Meredith Baxter Outed

[Wino]

Doesn't seem right that Meredith was outed but that is the price celebrities pay for fame.

After recent reports say 'Family Ties' mom Meredith Baxter was spotted on a gay cruise, the actress is coming clean on 'Today,' saying: "I want to say I'm a lesbian, and it was a later-in-life recognition." In an interview with Matt Lauer, Baxter -- who has been married three times and has five children -- says she figured out her sexuality seven years ago.

"Some people would say, well, you're living a lie and, you know, the truth is – not at all. This has only been for the past seven years," Baxter told Lauer. She says she didn't disclose this before because she has "always lived a very private life," and that "to come out and disclose stuff is very antithetical to who I am."

Baxter says that she realized she needed to come forward because she "got involved with someone I never expected to get involved with, and it was an awakening. I understood why I have the issue in my life ... I was involved with people who made me think they're the problem. It never occurred to me, that it was me," Baxter said.

Speculation about Meredith's sexuality was raised when tabloid magazine The National Enquirer reported that she was spotted on a gay cruise recently.

Baxter shot to fame thanks to her role as matriarch Elyse Keaton on the hit '80s sitcom 'Family Ties.' Before her success there, she already had a long career in showbiz, with acting gigs dating all the way back to 1971. She had stints on 'The Love Boat,' 'Family' and 'Bridget Loves Bernie,' among other shows and movies.

Baxter has five children from three separate marriages. She had two children with husband Ted Bush, and later had three more with David Birney.

In recent years, Baxter has become very focused on charity work since she survived breast cancer. She's since started her own charity -- the Meredith Baxter Foundation for Breast Cancer Research.

http://www.popeater....h-baxter-gay%2F

[CrazyExpat]

I don't understand why there was a need to out her. It is her business and hers only. It is sad but true that most celebrities don't make the income they would make if they stay in the closet.

[Wino]

I don't understand why she was "outed" either. Bedroom issues should be private. Some of these looney tunes think you have to set the record straight.

[Thaimo]

I agree. I don't see how a person's sex life is anyone's business but their own, even for public figures. When it comes to being outed, I'm opposed to doing that to people. If someone wants the world to know he is gay, then I think he is entitled to be the one to say so. And since you don't know what kinds of problems outing people may cause for them, I think it's a terribly mean thing to do. Even public figures are entitled to their privacy. What does her sex life have to do with Meredith Baxter's acting career? Nothing I know of. I see no reason why one's sex life should be included as part of the price they have to pay for fame.