Rosie O’Donnell blocked from coming out in 1992 Cosmopolitan interview for ‘protection’
Comedian and actor Rosie O’Donnell has revealed that she attempted to come out as gay back in 1992 in a magazine interview, but that she was blocked from doing so in order to “protect” her.
In an online interview with Marlo Thomas posted on YouTube, Ms O’Donnell said she revealed to a reporter that she was gay, but that then editor Helen Gurley Brown removed that quote from the interview.
“[The reporter] said, ‘Are you gay?’ and I said ‘yes,'” she said.
“She was protecting me,” Ms O’Donnell said. “At that time it would have been a huge issue. I think it’s changed a lot… [Now] it’s much more common and people are much more used to it.”
Ms O’Donnell eventually came out in 2002 during a New York stand-up show.
