Quote Originally Posted by carlo View Post
It's funny because Nile Rodgers has told this story dozens of times, and each time the details change slightly, in regards to what he actually told Ms. Ross about the song at the time and her supposed reaction. He now makes it sound like he was giggling in the corner, after knowingly writing a gay anthem song and having Ms. Ross record it unaware. I'm sure she was not completely oblivious, but perhaps initially questioned the meaning and how people would perceive her, in light of releasing this song. For him to say something like, "Oooo she didn't know what 'coming out' meant!" To be fair, I don't think a lot of straight people knew what that phrase meant in 1980. I know Ms. Ross already had a strong connection with her gay audience through different avenues at that time. But in my opinion, the concept of 'coming out' was not as prevalent as it is now. The gay scene was still sort of secret and an "underground" thing when she would have recorded the song. So whether she actually didn't initially understand the meaning of the song or the implications...you have to think about that in the context of those times and then it makes sense, instead of simply being a funny headline.
True. "Coming out" had [[and has) a lot of different meanings but at that point, I don't think many used it as something prevalent in the gay community, that was much later. And as you stated, Diana was WELL AWARE she had a gay following going back to the Supremes days. So why would she be confused about the meaning? Plus she lived in West Hollywood, a huge gay enclave to this day, for years.