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.They took a few flashes, but mostly stayed in the back while the reporters and their cameras had center stage.Tyler held up his hand and the din suddenly quieted.It reminded him of biblical stories of Moses parting the red sea, and he had to chuckle.The cameras were trained on him and the microphones were thrust toward him through the gates.He looked them all over for a moment, then cleared his throat.“I have a few things to say,” Tyler started.“First of all, an admission: Yes, I am gay.My family and friends have known this for years.I have always kept my personal life private because I felt that was the right thing to do.However, after this gross invasion of my privacy, I decided it was time to clear the air.I am gay, and I am in a long-term relationship with a wonderful man.In the interest of keeping my personal life as private as possible, I won’t say anything more than that, and I hope you can respect my privacy…though I know you won’t.”There were murmurs of uneasy chuckles from the crowd assembled before him.“Second, to the question of Mr.Jonah Roberts, a man who tried to ‘out’ me on national television.I did have a brief relationship with Mr.Roberts.However, I never cheated on him, nor did I do any of the other things he accuses me of doing.Mr.Roberts has ulterior motives, mostly jealousy, and those are things he will have to deal with on his own.I will not entertain those things, nor will I address his allegations again in any way whatsoever.”“But what about your girlfriends, Tyler?” The voice came from the back of the crowd.It was filled with sarcasm.Tyler shook his head and smiled.“The media can spin a story any way they like.They can choose particular camera angles, they can report on only half the facts, and they can employ paparazzi to choose only the photographs that fit their storyline, which is not necessarily the truth.Because of this, it has often seemed as though I was dating a particular woman or in a relationship with one star after another.The truth is that I have a great network of friends, and sometimes the time I spend with them can be construed as ‘dating.’ It’s not true, it never was true, and if it appears to be, you can rest assured that’s just the media doing the most unsavory part of their jobs.”That very media was looking at him with stone-faced expressions.Some were red-faced, surely already looking for ways to cut down what he said into soundbites that would potentially damage Tyler in the eyes of the public.Amazingly enough, Tyler found he didn’t care in the least.“And finally, I have to say: Shame on you.Shame on all of you.I know you think it is okay to invade the personal lives of anyone, but here’s a news flash for you: It’s not.Just because you have a story to report doesn’t mean that you have the right to invade someone’s most personal moments to get that story.“I happen to have the job of making movies.That means I will work hard to entertain you, that you will get your money’s worth out of that ticket.It means I will go above and beyond for my fans.It means I will do everything I can to make sure the directors, producers, coworkers, and everyone else I come into contact with is happy.I will do my best to earn the money I make.“But at the end of the day, that’s all I owe anyone beyond my family and friends.I entertain you, but that does not mean that you have access to anything beyond that.My personal life is mine, not yours.As a celebrity, I am happy to give as much of my time as possible to the public.But once I get behind closed doors, that time is mine.And shame on you – all of you – for thinking anything different.”Tyler turned on his heel and walked away.The crowd erupted into a massive shouting match, pushing and shoving to get the last shots, screaming at Tyler to come back and explain himself further.Tyler ignored the sounds that were being thrown at him and simply kept walking.He turned the gentle curve of his driveway and stepped out of their prying eyes.And there waited Romano, smiling at him.“How did it go?”Tyler threw his arm around him as they walked.He knew that the video feeds were already being edited and cut down, that the most important things he had to say would be overlooked in favor of the things that sounded the most sensational.“We’ll see it on the evening news, I suppose.Then you can decide for yourself.”“I’m so proud of you,” Romano said passionately, and Tyler stopped to share a long hug with his lover, with the distant sound of the screaming crowd as their backdrop.CHAPTER TENThe backlash was instant and fierce.Tyler knew the media would hate him, but he had no idea what kind of form that hatred would take.Two days later the tabloids screamed “Tyler Amos Hates His Fans!” and that was just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.They twisted his words – as he knew they would – into something that made him seem like an ungenerous, selfish and arrogant lout.He knew better, and everyone who was there that day knew better, but the media had a knack for presenting only parts of the story.Only a few news outlets aired the comments in their entirety, but soon the more serious outlets began to pick up on it, and the debate on privacy for celebrities was once again front and center.Tyler was quite happy about that particular turn of events, but the story was quickly overshadowed by the more salacious commentary, even on those more serious stations.He knew that he might have pissed off a few people who were unaware he was gay, and sure enough, they came out of the woodwork with a list of grievances.His high school girlfriend found her way onto national television by the time the week was out, crying about the fact that she had wasted two whole years on him.“I thought we would marry,” she cried to the cameras.“And all this time, he was living a lie and pulled me into it…”Romano watched the story with interest.When the woman was done talking and the hosts moved to other stories, Romano looked over at Tyler.“Did you know you were gay back then?”Tyler thought about that for a long moment before he answered.“I suspected it,” he said.After another moment of thought, he said, “Maybe I should give her a call to apologize.”“At this point, she would probably record it in the hopes of selling it for money.Let it be until all this dies down.”Tyler knew that Romano was right, but the idea that he might have led someone on, even unintentionally, bothered him more than he could articulate.Several of his former leading ladies expressed surprise, but they didn’t let on that they were hurt.They were playing their parts, being supportive in the open, but behind closed doors they were ripping him apart.He knew this, because he heard their angry voices when he answered their calls.Apparently his appeal went beyond the fans.Tyler was both flattered and chagrined for the way he had hurt them.Brianna was the only one who seemed to stay silent.She was seen coming out of her house one day, her lips drawn into a frown and her eyes covered with dark sunglasses
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