Barry Manilow Says Coming Out When He Rose to Fame 'Would Have Killed the Career'

Barry Manilow told the Los Angeles Times that coming out in the '70s or '80s would have "killed the career"

NEED TO KNOW

• Manilow came out in a PEOPLE cover story in 2017

• The singer-songwriter married Garry Kief in 2014

Barry Manilowthinks his career may have looked different had he come out sooner.

In 2017, the "Copacabana" singercame out as a gay in a PEOPLE cover story. At the time, he revealed he privately married his longtime manager and partner Garry Kief in 2014.

In anew interview with theLos Angeles Timespublished on Wednesday, May 27, Manilow was asked if he thought the world looked at him differently since he came out.

"It was a non-event. Nobody gave a s---," Manilow, 82, said.

"They all knew. I never really hid it, but in the ’70s and ’80s, that would have killed the career, and I didn’t want to do that. So I just never talked about it," he added.

In his2017 cover story with PEOPLE, Manilow opened up about his fear of disappointing fans.

"I thought I would be disappointing them if they knew I was gay. So I never did anything," he said at the time. "When they found out that Garry and I were together, they were so happy. The reaction was so beautiful — strangers commenting, ‘Great for you!’ I’m just so grateful for it."

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Manilow and Kief have been together as a couple for more than 47 years. In March, Manilowcaught up with PEOPLE once againand said that he felt like "a very lucky guy that he has chosen to share his life with me."

In November, Manilow wasdiagnosed with stage 1 lung cancerand subsequently underwenta lobectomyto remove the diseased part of his left lung. He's been recovering in the months since and continues to appreciate the little moments with Kief.

"We still laugh, and we don’t get bored with each other. It’s a great life," he said. "Two guys in a house on a hill with two dogs that we love — that’s us. I’m very grateful."

In a 2024 interview withThe Hollywood Reporter, Manilow said it was a "burden" to keep his sexuality a secret.

“I didn’t want my career to go away. I love it. I’m grateful for it. But it was a burden to keep it quiet,”Manilow told the outlet. "I was always worried. Every interview: ‘They’re going to ask me whether I’m gay or not.’ Nobody ever did, by the way. They never asked me the $64 question."

Manilow's set to release his next album,What a Time, on June 5.

Read the original article onPeople