Jim Parsons, 'Big Bang Theory' star, comes out as gay

GlobalPost

Jim Parsons, who plays the disarming Sheldon Cooper on CBS' hit sitcom "The Big Bang Theory," quietly came out of the closet in a New York Times profile published on Wednesday

Parsons is currently starring  on Broadway in a revival of "Harvey," a 1944 Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy about the sweet-natured Elwood P. Dowd and his invisible friend, a 6-foot-tall rabbit named Harvey

The actor did not discuss his personal life beyond referring to his experience working on "The Normal Heart," a play which explored the HIV/AIDS crisis, CBS News reported.

"The Normal Heart resonated with him on a few levels: Mr. Parsons is gay and in a 10-year relationship, and working with an ensemble again onstage was like nourishment, he said," the Times' Patrick Healy wrote.

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Parsons does he reveal his partner's identity in the interview, or comment on his relationship further. 

Out Magazine pointed out that Parsons, who had avoided coming out in his public life, is part of a contingent of celebrities who keep their sexual preferences private, a theory Out columnist Michael Musto calls "the glass closet," which he defines as "the phenomenon where public figures, like Jodie Foster and Anderson Cooper, live gay lives but stop short at actually coming out on the record." 

"[Anderson Cooper]’s joined in glass by Queen Latifah, Ellen Page, and Jim Parsons, but they’re a shrinking group as busting out becomes the honorable — and sensible — thing to do," Musto wrote. 

Parsons was not immediately available for comment, Access Hollywood reported. His show "Harvey" is set to premiere on stage June 14 in New York. 

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