News, Reviews & Commentary on Gay and Bisexual Men in Entertainment and the Media

Michael Urie's Reality Check

I've been very curious about the new miniseries Miss America: Reality Check that TLC has been plugging like crazy lately. The show takes 52 aspiring Miss America contestants and runs them through a makeover in an attempt to put to rest some of the worst pageant cliches. 

The pageant stuff I really couldn't care less about, despite the fact that they're having a bit of a reality show renaissance as of late. What I find interesting is that Ugly Betty's wonderfully witty Michael Urie (Marc St. James) is the host, and from all outward appearances he's carrying quite a bit of his on-screen fashionista persona with him into this reality show project.

Urie has declined to discuss his sexuality publicly, which is of course his choice and completely fine with me. But it does seem odd that Urie is comfortable appearing as himself in a manner that so closely resembles his insanely flamboyant and very gay television character. Since he's playing a gay character, people will naturally speculate that he's gay, and if he doesn't want to address that, that's fine. But doesn't it seem an odd choice to then take a project that would only fuel speculation by tying his gay character more directly to his off-screen self? Maybe it's a trivial point, but it did strike me as a bit odd. Still, he's the reason I'll be tuning in. 

TLC has uploaded a second commercial for the show that jokes about Urie being their version of The Bachelor (the spot's much funnier overall than the ad that's showing every 3 minutes on TV). Check it out over here!

Jason B-S's picture

OMG - Hilarious!

I'll have to catch it online.
Andros's picture

It also stuck me as odd. I

It also stuck me as odd. I suppose that due the the Strike, Michael was interested in such project($$$) but that TLC wanted the high "Jack Mcfarland/Marc St-James" personality rather than Michael down to earth personality. Let's not kid ourselves... if what we saw in the promo is how Michael is gonna behave, we'll see him play his character, not himself.
JBE's picture

I find it odd when

some guys refuse to discuss their sexuality even though it would not come as a big surprise to the public if they came out of the closet. Michael Urie, MIKA and from the past Freddie Mercury all fall into this category. Let's face it if MIKA said tomorrow he was gay, would music fans react "Oh the shock, the horror!" I don't think so, they would probably react "no sh*t" and continue to buy his records and songs. The same holds true with Michael Urie. My first boyfriend was of a similar mindset. He used to get upset if you told him that it was no big secret he was gay (he was closeted). The fact that he ironed his underwear, and walked like he had a pickle up his bum didn't seem to strike him as dead giveaways! Oh well, I guess people can stand only so much reality about themselves. Cheers JBE
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homoguy563's picture

*LOL* @ JBE

 "Walked like he had a pickle up his bum"-Hehe.Ironing your underwear makes you gay?I didn't know that.I don't listen to Mika and I don't plan on watching this show.
JBE's picture

HaHa

but lets face it how many straight guys iron their underwear.  I know some you would be lucky if they changed their underwear daily (gross I know).

Cheers

JBE

homoguy563's picture

Ironing underwear.

 How many people period iron their underwear?How long ago was this and how long did you date him?
JBE's picture

It was in 1987-88

and I dated him for six months.  You are talking to someone (me) that regards an iron with the same fondness as others regard heights, with great trepidation, so we obviously had some compatibility issues!  He also ironed his jeans and kept every ATM or bank balance receipt he ever received (he was a bit anal)!

Cheers

JBE

Dave's picture

I'm with you, JBE...

...the closest I get to ironning is hanging my shirts in the bathroom while I'm taking a really hot shower.
JBE's picture

That's funny

Dave!  My mom hated ironing as well so I come by it honestly.  My partner irons his dress shirts, mind you he puts me to shame when it comes to neatness, he is a bit of a GQ type of guy.  Thank God I met him, he makes sure I leave home for work without any embarrassing wardrobe malfunctions (I am a bit absent-minded about such things).

Cheers

JBE

Bobbyjoe's picture

Fly Forward?

The topic of whether or not Michael Urie is gay and, by extension, the larger issue of visibility and being openly gay is an interesting one, so much so that I think I'll book an American Airlines flight and discuss it with the "friend" I bring along.

I guess I'm just a Grinch today, and not to bite a hand that feeds AfterElton, one of my favorite sites, but if American Airlines really plans to promote a division aimed at gays, they might want to be a tad bit braver in their banners (particularly on gay sites, for Pete's sake)  than ambiguous pictures of guys in Hawaiian shirts that look like they come from the 1950s and ad lines about taking "a friend" (nudge, nudge, wink, wink).

On one hand, it's nice that a national company is considering gay consumers, but, on the other, it ain't 1958 and I'm not a founding member of the Mattachine Society. If American Airlines really wants my business, how about they take a hint from Orbitz and stop playing coy?