Sean Hayes, who recently got our collective hopes up for a Will and Grace reboot, was recently acknowledged for his contributions to the progress and empowerment of the LBGT community. The 46-year-old actor received the Trailblazer award at the Outfest Legacy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles on Sunday night. Outfest is a non-profit organization founded in 1982 to promote equality through increased visibility of LBGT characters on stage and screen. During the ceremony, Transparent creator Jill Soloway was also honored with the organization’s Visionary Award. She deserves it. I love that show.
Sean, who won an Emmy for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series (he was nominated six more times and six times for a Golden Globe) came out in 2010, in an interview in Advocate, saying, “I am who I am. I was never in, as they say. Never.” He also sarcastically added, “I feel like I’ve contributed monumentally to the success of the gay movement in America, and if anyone wants to argue that, I’m open to it. You’re welcome, Advocate.” Well, now he’s got an award to prove he wasn’t actually wrong back then.
In a press release, Outfest said that Hayes was receiving the honor “in recognition of his exemplary career as a stage, film, television, and recording artist and for his longtime, passionate support of the LGBT community.” He also deserves it. I love Sean Hayes. Sean’s longtime friend Dax Shepard presented him with the award, calling him “incredible” and “a wonderful person” and told he audience that “he is the guy who will talk to the barista for 20 minutes about her aspirations” and “is generous to the point of being a communist.”
During his acceptance speech, Sean confessed that he initially thought his success hinged on his remaining in the closet and admitted, “Looking back at my choice to stay silent, I am ashamed and embarrassed. What was I thinking?” If you have six minutes, watch the speech. If you don’t, here are some highlights:
“[The press release] said that I took the stereotypical gay sissy and made him human, lovable, flawed and real. While this may be true, I think you should’ve led with flawed because at the time, I was a young closeted actor having his first taste of a little success and unfortunately, in my mind, my lucky break was inextricably tied to me thinking that I had to stay in the closet in order to keep moving forward.”
“When it comes to nights like tonight and honors like this, I’m consumed with what I didn’t do. I know I should’ve come out sooner and I’m sorry for that. Especially when I think about the possibility that I might have made a difference in someone’s life. I would probably be able to sleep a lot better than I do if I had acted sooner, but such is life. We learn our lessons only when we are ready.”
Sean also used the speech to poke fun at himself, acknowledging that pretty much everyone knew he was gay before he outed himself, jokingly admitting, “As if any of you had any doubts. I mean, right, could a straight actor ever do this?” and then launching into his Cher impersonation, belting out a line from “If I Could Turn Back Time.” He also joked that he’s now best known for making “quirky Facebook videos” with husband Scott Icenogle, whom he married in 2014 (their lip sync of the Iggy Azalea/Jennifer Hudson track “Trouble” is one for the ages.)
Sean has been great in everything he has done (RIP, Smash) and I’ve loved him since Billy’s Hollywood Screen Kiss. Congrats on your honor, Sean! Make more videos!
Photo credit: Getty Images, WENN.com
Water is wet and Sean Haynes is gay.
Hahah totally!
Like we didn’t already know??
He was SO fabulous on “Will & Grace”. But please, spare us the reboot.
i agree. i’d love to see him in an HBO drama/comedy in the vein of Divorce or Togetherness. where he can really “act” and also be hilarious. he has a sweet presence on screen – i’d be interested in seeing him in a dramatic role as well.
His part in The Bucket List (think that’s the title) was so beautifully understated and well done.
Did he really think he was hiding? I’m surprised he felt the need to clarify that he was gay because everyone already thought he was. Ditto Nile Crane. Richard Chamberlain.
I didn’t know about David Hyde Pierce but I think I was ten or eleven when Frasier started. I was crazy about Niles (still am) and the thought only entered my mind about five seasons in.
Hayes was a given but I appreciate his comments. He and the show Will and Grace probably did more for the community than they’ll ever know.
I had a friend come out who we all knew was gay. Granted we were just teenagers so that may have made a difference, but it was so important to him & different from the fact that we knew he was fooling around with guys. It was about him saying he was gay, owning it and letting the world know- not just his friends.
When the show was airing, there was a bit of complaining in certain circles that he would decidedly not just say he was gay.
You come out, when you come out. Do what you want and be who you are. Regret nothing.
Exactly. It makes me a little sad to think that anyone has to struggle with that anyway. But no one owes anyone else an explanation of who they are. If someone never officially comes out… That is their own business and certainly not mind.
Does it count if we already knew?
You may not seem him on TV much any more but Sean has over a dozen Producer credits, including one of my favorite shows, Grimm.
So you do like Grimm? It’s been in my cue for months now and I don’t know what’s stopping me from watching it so far. I’ll take your enthusiasm as a recommendation!
Watch Grimm! It’s great!!!
The episode where he tells Cher she’s not Cher and does his impression of her is one of my all time favorite TV moments.