Singer Belinda Carlisle will open this
weekend's PrideFest, Milwaukee's Gay Pride Festival.
The 53-year-old Carlisle will take to
the stage on Friday as PrideFest begins its 25th
anniversary. Other event headliners include Taylor Dane, Berlin and
GOD-DES & She.
Speaking to gay weekly Wisconsin
Gazette, Carlisle, whose openly gay actor son, James Duke
Mason, earlier launched a video campaign urging gay actors to leave
the closet, said her 80s band the Go-Go's has always had a gay fan
base.
“The Go-Go's have always had a gay
audience from its inception,” Carlisle said. “It has always been
like that. I don't know really how you can say why or define that.
Maybe there's a little bit of the 'Valley of the Dolls' element
[laughs] thrown in there. Also, gay people have better taste than
straight people, generally. They do. We've all been aware that
we've always had a gay audience.”
She said of President Obama's recent
endorsement of gay marriage: “It's about time. I'm glad he said
it. It was a really brave thing to do.”
Carlisle added that she would be a gay
rights advocate “even if I didn't have a gay son.”