Duane Martin: Man Identified As Will Smith’s Secret Gay Lover Is Longtime Friend Known For His Successful Hollywood Marriage
Duane Martin has been identified as Will Smith’s rumored gay lover, but outside of the viral rumor making the rounds this week, the 51-year-old actor is known for his longstanding marriage in an entertainment industry when relationships are often not built to last.
The stories this week identified Martin, a longtime friend of Will and Jada Pinkett-Smith, as a secret gay lover of Will Smith.
The bizarre rumor is an outgrowth of Duane Martin and his wife, Tisha Campbell-Martin, filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The court documents were uncovered by Radar Online, finding that the Martins had been receiving payments from Will Smith and his wife for the sale of a home.
A trustee had filed paperwork ordering that Martin turn over his laptop, claiming that Martin was “not… honest and forthcoming in this case.” As Radar Online noted, Martin may be trying to protect some bombshell secrets hidden on the laptop.
“The laptop also contains … personal photos… which are confidential, privileged, and unrelated to any legitimate interest… confidential communications with other public figures regarding private, non-financial matters.
“They said they feared ‘the risk of disclosing private information not pertinent to the instant case [that is] highly sought after by tabloid publications’!”
From there, the report takes a giant leap to insinuate that Will Smith is actually gay and hiding a relationship with Duane Martin. Though there is no evidence that the money paid from the Smiths to the Martins is any sort of “hush money” to keep the affair secret, the report goes on to describe how Will Smith and Duane Martin were spotted on vacation together in 2011 without their wives.
There have apparently been rumors for years that Will Smith may be secretly gay, though there has never been any concrete evidence and none contained in the reports circulating this week, either.
The Martins had spoken out about their bankruptcy back in April, with Tisha taking to Twitter and explaining that it was some bad real estate investments that landed them $15 million in debt.
“Hey anybody got nickel? Yeah guys it’s not like what’s being reported at ALL but it’s funny tho. Quick statement, have y’all seen the movie ‘The Big Short?’… Yup we did file but its becuz my hubby n I invested n real estate, got involved w some loans b4 the BANKS caused the market to crash … Obviously couldn’t agree 2 a settlement with the banks, so we filed to reorganize, that’s all, but I so appreciate the genuine concern 4 my fam. I got the best supporters ever thanks TWITTER FAM,” Campbell-Martin wrote (via E! News).
In fact, even as he was being identified as the secret gay lover of actor Will Smith, Duane Martin was receiving praise for reaching the 20-year mark in his marriage with Tisha Campbell-Martin, which is an eternity in Hollywood years.
The couple recently talked about what it takes to maintain a happy marriage after 20 years and two children.
“The number one thing is she’s first to her and I’m first to me,” Duane said (via BlackDoctor.org). “I want her to be who she is and be great. There’s no [jealousy] going on. If I’m asking you to support me and you’re out of gas, that’s a disaster. I need to have a full tank, she needs to have a full tank.”
.@TishaCampblMrtn & @DUANEMARTIN_ Show Us What Being Happily Married for 20 Years Looks Like https://t.co/JQzE8nNcST pic.twitter.com/Iv2hQ5901a
— ESSENCE (@Essence) August 21, 2016
There is plenty of doubt about the report that Will Smith and Duane Martin are secret gay lovers, but it’s nothing new for the Concussion actor. Smith has long faced flimsy rumors claiming that he is secretly gay, including some allegations from within Hollywood. Alexis Arquette even claimed in a Facebook post (which would be deleted but preserved by the Daily Mail) that both Will and his wife are secretly gay.
[Photo by Matt Sayles/AP Images]
