Comedian Joan Rivers has praised her
large gay following.
In
an interview with Los Angeles-based gay weekly Frontiers in LA,
Rivers said gays were the first “to laugh at me.”
When asked, “Joan, you have such a
strong fanbase among the gays. What is your take on why that is?”
Rivers answered: “Because I think gay men are brighter and smarter
and more open, and they always – even in the beginning – got my
comedy. I remember the first one to say, 'she's funny.'”
The 77-year-old Rivers added: “The
first ones in Greenwich Village to laugh at me were the gays.”
Rivers, who won Donald Trump's
Celebrity Apprentice in 2009, recently backed down a bit on
her advice that gay actors should remain closeted.
“Yes. You are
supposed to be a heartthrob, and you want the little teenage girls'
hearts to go pitter-patter. That's what brings in the money. You
know what? Let them stay in the closet and send big checks to AIDS
research. Let them come out like Ricky Martin did, when you want to
come out.”
“However,” she
told gay glossy The Advocate, “if it isn't going to
affect your career and if you're not the heartthrob, then shame on
you for not coming out.”