Tom Selleck’s sexual orientation has been questioned in some quarters from time to time. This is probably because the actor once said he wouldn’t admit he’s gay even if it’s the case for him. According to him, he is a very private person and wouldn’t indulge the public in any discussion about such a matter. As you would soon learn, Tom took legal action against the tabloid press that claimed he was gay. Commenting on why the gay rumors persist despite the facts that suggest otherwise, the famous actor opined that some folks who are gay want him to be gay.
The Actor and Film Producer Played a Gay Character In a 1997 Comedy Film and It’s One of The Reasons People Thought He Was Gay
Born to Martha (née Jagger) and Robert Dean Selleck in Detroit, Michigan, Thomas William Selleck was raised alongside three siblings in Sherman Oaks, California, where his family relocated to in 1948. There, he schooled at Grant High School after which he moved on to Los Angeles Valley College but then got a basketball scholarship that facilitated his transfer to the University of Southern California (USC).
At USC, Tom studied Business Administration and played basketball for the college team with the hope of building a professional career thereof, but that dream changed when he was advised to try acting. He did, got hooked, and eventually dropped out of college to study acting under the late, famous acting instructor, Milton Katselas, at the Beverly Hills Playhouse, an acting school in Beverly Hills, California.
Tom began making television appearances in 1965 and debuted as an actor in 1969 on the TV series, Lancer. Since then, he has pulled off no fewer than 83 acting credits across the small and big screens. While the American actor is now also a film producer, he is mostly known for the wide range of characters he has played in movies and TV shows. The role that gained him mainstream recognition was that of Thomas Magnum in Magnum, P.I. Some of his other popular works include Friends, Las Vegas, Runaway, Three Men and a Baby, Christopher Columbus: The Discovery, In & Out, and much more.
He played Peter Malloy, a gay character in In & Out and it one of the reasons people have questioned his sexuality despite the facts that strongly show he’s heterosexual.
Tom Selleck’s Passionate Kiss With Actor Kevin Kline Was Just Acting
The 1997 comedy film directed by Frank Oz was inspired by Tom Hanks’ acceptance speech when his role in Philadelphia won him an Academy Award for Best Actor in 1993. During the speech, the veteran actor and filmmaker revealed that Rawley Farnsworth, his drama teacher in high school, and one of his classmates named John Gilkerson were gay. In the movie which, to the best of our knowledge, remains Tom Selleck’s only gay role, the actor portrayed an openly gay reporter.
One of his scenes featured a passionate kiss with the Academy Award-winning actor, Kevin Kline. It earned both actors an MTV Movie Awards nomination for Best Kiss in 1998 – which they lost to Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore’s kiss in The Wedding Singer. The kiss also had a lot of people questioning the sexual orientation of Tom and Kevin. As much as the In & Out kiss with Kevin Kline had a lot of people wondering if the actor married to a female was bi-curious, it was suggested in some quarters that the actor played the role to appease the LGBTQ community as he was widely perceived as someone who harbored hatred against homosexuals. This was because of the legal action he took against the tabloid that claimed he was gay back in 1991.
So, the speculations about the actor’s sexuality didn’t start with the gay role he played on In & Out. And, while Tom admitted that he saw the role as a chance to change the perception that he’s homophobic, he maintained that it was just acting and had nothing to do with his sexuality. According to him, kissing Kevin was difficult compared to other kissing scenes he had had and they had to shoot the scene several times before he got it right. Adding that it was pretty awkward, Tom stressed that it was just acting and he had to do it as it was part of the script.
The Globe Article That Propagated The Actor Was Gay
It is often thought that the rumors about Tom Selleck’s sexuality began with the Globe supermarket article titled “Gay Star Stop Traffic”, but this is not so. It was already being rumored that the actor was gay for reasons that are yet to be unraveled before the article further propagated the rumors. As it happened in early 1991, a gay activist group called Outpost had a series of posters of popular celebrities like Sherman Hemsley, Jodie Foster, Paula Abdul, Mel Gibson, Tom Selleck, and much more placed all over New York. These posters were captioned “Absolutely Het” or “Absolutely Queer” and it was seen as an effort by the activist group to out celebrities they believed were gay.
In July that year, Globe published an article based on the posters which propagated the notion that Tom Selleck was gay. Reports have it that the actor tried to get the paper to publish a retraction and only dragged them to court when its management refused to do so. He sued the tabloid for libel and invasion of privacy, asking for $20 million. As culled from his court papers, the actor contended that the story didn’t only bring him hatred and contempt but was meant to ridicule him, destroy his family relations, his character, reputation, and career. Apart from the $20 million, the suit also asked for an unspecified amount in punitive damages.
As one would expect, the lawsuit gained Tom Selleck the attention of the tabloid and they subsequently settled out of court for a sum that was never disclosed to the public. In addition to that, it was agreed that the Globe would publish an apology and clarification about the gay article. The public apology came in August 1991 and therein, the Globe expressed that it didn’t intend to make any implication about the actor’s sexuality. With that, it apologized for any statement in the article that was construed to express that Selleck was sexually attracted to men.
The Incident Had The Actor Proclaim That He Is Singularly Heterosexual
People have always had the need to authenticate the sexual orientation of popular figures and it would be unrealistic to hope the norm would change in the nearest future. With the many celebrities who have come out as queer, it’s only instinctive for people to wonder if there are other celebrities still closeted. But then, one would expect that people would take these figures for their words when they publicly state they are straight, especially for celebrities like Tom Selleck who has not given anyone any concrete reason to suspect he’s not heterosexual.
After the Globe article was published, the actor, through his publicist, released a statement that condemned the tabloid for republishing what it described as false claims suggesting he was gay. Tom demanded the article be retracted but according to reports, Wendy Henry who was the Globe Editor insisted that the article was “a news report of a perfectly factual story“. Left with no other option, the actor took legal action against the supermarket tabloid which created the perception that he was homophobic.
Addressing that, the actor upheld that the lawsuit had nothing to do with gay people. He pointed out that he sued The Enquirer in 1983 when it falsely reported that he had an affair with Victoria Principal. With that, Tom Selleck explained that he might have ignored the article if he didn’t have a wife to whom he was committed. The Blue Bloods actor buttressed that he was a family man with kids and the article implied he was living a double life. As far as he was concerned, the piece was out to wreck his family and he had to deal with it.
Above all, the International Mustache Hall of Famer issued a statement wherein he categorically stated that he is “singularly heterosexual”. Specifying that he is proud of his sexual preference just as those who are openly gay are proud of their sexual identity, Tom asserted that it is clear to anyone that knows him that he is nothing but straight.
Tom Selleck Has Been Married To Two Women and Its The Ultimate Fact That Proves He’s Not Gay
Of course, “lavender marriage” is a thing. If this is your first time coming across the term, know that it refers to a marriage of convenience between a male and a female and mostly undertaken by public figures to conceal their true sexual identity. This kind of marriage was said to be rampant in Hollywood in the 20th century.
Nonetheless, there are no facts, whatsoever, that suggest it’s the case for Tom Selleck. Thus, the actor’s mixed-orientation marriages remain the ultimate fact that points to him being straight unless it is authentically disproved.
All through his career, the actor has never been romantically linked or rumored to be dating any male. It has all been women, from Lillian Muller to Goldie Hawn, Mimi Rogers, and Marie Helvin. While it is not in our interest to affirm or refute if he truly dated these women, we can confirm he has been married to Jillie Mack since 1987 and was once married to Jacqueline Ray.
His First Marriage Began In 1971 and Ended In 1982
His first wife, a former model and actress, is known for her roles in productions like Magnum, P.I., In Like Flint, Beyond the Universe, Matt Houston, The New Mike Hammer, and more. The actress born in Burbank, California, on the 26th of January 1945, was a divorcee when she met Tom Selleck and they subsequently got married on the 15th of May 1971.
In the years that followed their nuptials, Tom rose to stardom and this supposedly created a fiction in their marriage and eventually led to their divorce in 1982, after being married for 10 years. Tom and Jacqueline had no child together, but the actor adopted Ray’s son from her first marriage; his name was Kevin Shepherd but he has been known as Kevin Selleck since he was adopted. Even after Tom and Jacqueline parted ways, he remained a good father to Kevin and they share a great bond.
Tom Has Been Married to Jill Mack Since August 1987
Like his first wife, Tom’s second wife is also an actress who has featured in popular productions like Magnum, P.I., The Wizard, Tales from the Darkside, Silverton, Fired Up, and ER. Tom and Jill Mack, who was born on the 24th of December 1957 in Devizes, Wiltshire, England, reportedly met in 1983, a year after he parted ways with Ray.
Before he met and started dating Jill, the famous actor was in a relationship with Mimi Rogers, a popular American actress who would later get married to Tom Cruise. From what we learned, the actor was filming Lassiter in London and met Jillie when he went to see a musical wherein she performed. They had dinner and it sealed their fate as a couple.
A couple of years later, precisely on the 7th of August 1987, they secretly got married and have remained together ever since. The Tom-and-Jill union was blessed with a daughter named Hannah Selleck in 1989 and she is the only child they have together.
Key Takeaways
- Tom Selleck, to the best of our knowledge, is not gay; he once stated that he is singularly heterosexual.
- He thinks the gay rumors about him are spread by gay people who want him to be gay.
- His gay role in In & Out is one of the reasons people question his sexuality.
- Tom brought a $20 million lawsuit against the Globe which published an article that implied he was gay.
- The Globe retracted the piece and Tom has only dated women, two of whom he married.
