Barry Manilow Reveals That If He Came Out As Gay In The 1970s, His Career Would Have Ended

In an interview with the U.K.’s Daily Mirror newspaper, Barry Manilow has revealed that he thinks that if he came out as gay back in the 1970s, his career would have been over.

Music News noted that the “Mandy” hitmaker first came out back in 2017 during an interview with People magazine. In the Daily Mirror interview, he reveals that he thinks that if he had come out four decades ago, his career would have been tarnished and that he wouldn’t have enjoyed all the success he achieved. He explains why he didn’t come out as gay before, how he came about dealing with the secret, and how he feels now.

“It’s absolutely wonderful. I went through many, many years when I couldn’t do that. As soon as the word got out my career would have been over,” he expresses.

“Everybody knew it, we had to watch out for making a mistake.”

“Not that everybody didn’t know, people are very smart,” he reflected.

“I thought I wasn’t hiding anything, but I was also not publicizing it. If I publicized it, especially in the 70s and 80s – no way,” the “A Nice Boy Like Me” chart-topper said.

In 1964, Manilow married Susan Deixler but the couple divorced two years later. In 2014, he got re-married to Garry Kief.

In 1973, he released his debut self-titled album. Since then, he has released numerous albums that have gone on to achieve success. In 2006, many decades after his first ever release, he finally achieved his first No. 1 studio album, The Greatest Songs of the Fifties. On the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, he has had three releases top the chart — “Mandy” / “Something’s Comin’ Up,” “I Write the Songs” / “A Nice Boy Like Me,” and “Looks Like We Made It” / “New York City Rhythm” — all of which were double A-side singles.

In 1977, Barry won an Emmy for Outstanding Special – Comedy, Variety or Music for The Barry Manilow Special. A year later, he won his first Grammy Award for Best Pop Male Vocal Performance for this single “Copacabana.” In total, he has won three American Music Awards for Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist in 1978, 1979, and 1980. He has been honored with a Hollywood Walk of Fame star and has been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame as well.

On May 23, he will embark on his extended “Manilow” show in Las Vegas. Barry announced via his Instagram that the show will run at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino until October.