Mr. Rogers stated that he had no problem with Clemmons being gay, but said he had to keep this secret for the sake of his show. It’s shitty and it doesn’t give context on exactly why Mr. Rogers told him this (except for the show being his dream that he didn’t want to jeopardize), but I think it was possibly related to the social climate of things at the time. The gay community was facing persecution also, so I think this was Mr. Rogers trying to weather a storm so that his show could persist and continue to help people. My theory is that he probably had bigoted folks in upper management that thought bringing a black and gay man onto the show was a bridge too far for them, and Mr. Rogers didn’t want to see his dream disappear.
In the end, it probably saved both of their careers, but it’s really terrible. It was also during times when folks stayed closeted in order to not lose everything they’ve built career and reputation-wise.
No need, he only played a cop on the show, his real occupation was singer, actor & lecturer.
And he was a gay guy that Mr. Rogers shamed into staying closeted.
Context for those wondering.
Mr. Rogers stated that he had no problem with Clemmons being gay, but said he had to keep this secret for the sake of his show. It’s shitty and it doesn’t give context on exactly why Mr. Rogers told him this (except for the show being his dream that he didn’t want to jeopardize), but I think it was possibly related to the social climate of things at the time. The gay community was facing persecution also, so I think this was Mr. Rogers trying to weather a storm so that his show could persist and continue to help people. My theory is that he probably had bigoted folks in upper management that thought bringing a black and gay man onto the show was a bridge too far for them, and Mr. Rogers didn’t want to see his dream disappear.
In the end, it probably saved both of their careers, but it’s really terrible. It was also during times when folks stayed closeted in order to not lose everything they’ve built career and reputation-wise.