Lily Tomlin Talks About Her Reasons For Waiting To Come Out

Comedienne/actress Lily Tomlin spent much of her career in an interesting netherworld where pretty much everyone knew she was gay, her resume was full of LGBT and gay-friendly projects and there were even several occasions when it was said she was going to publicly come out –  except that she didn’t. It’s only been in the last couple of years that she’s spoken openly about her sexuality, and since then she’s also gotten married.

So why did she wait? Well, talking to the Washington Post she says, ‘I wanted to be acknowledged for my work. I didn’t want to be that gay person who does comedy.’

Tomlin certainly has an interesting history in the semi-closet. For example, she was offered the cover of Time magazine way back in 1975 to announce her sexuality, but she turned it down. There was also a bit of controversy in 1995 when she narrated the documentary The Celluloid Closet. The filmmakers suggested that to coincide with the movie’s release Lily was going to come out, but then she didn’t.

Through most of it she’s been with the same woman, Jane Wagner, her partner of over four decades, who she married last New Year’s Eve. She says of her marriage ‘We upped and did it. We thought we should get married because we can.’