Luther Vandross Was Afraid To Come Out As Gay - Patti LaBelle

Vandross was long rumored to be gay, though he never said as much—in interviews, he’d generally either roll with a line of questioning that assumed he was straight or refuse to answer direct questions about his sexuality.

During the Watch What Happens Live after-show, Andy Cohen asked Patti LaBelle if Luther Vandross ever struggled with the idea of coming out publicly and this is what she had to say...

“We talked about it,” said LaBelle. “Basically, he did not want his mother to be...although she might have known, but he wasn’t going to come out and say this to the world. And he had a lot of lady fans and he told me he just didn’t want to upset the world.”