Zachary Quinto 'Grateful' for 'Enormous Support' After Coming Out: VIDEO

Zachary Quinto spoke with MTV News at a press call for his Wall Street drama Margin Call on Monday morning, vowing to be "part of the conversation" (on lgbt issues) when the time is right.

Of his reception as a gay man, Quinto said: "It's been enormously supportive — universally, unanimously supportive. I'm really grateful for that."

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Zachary Quinto Inspires ABC 'World News Now' Anchor Dan Kloeffler to Come Out, Reach Out for a Date: VIDEO

ABC 'World News Now' anchor Dan Kloeffler came out on the air last night. He writes:

Kind of a big moment for me while filling in on World News Now, which is by far the most fun you can legally have at 3:00 in the morning! Yunji de Nies and I were talking about celebrity headlines, when I read the story about Zachary Quinto, who played Spock in “Star Trek,” coming out as gay in a magazine interview. Because WNN is a show where you can offer some personality, I had a little fun with the story saying that I would drop my rule against dating actors.

I’ve never shared that I’m gay on-air, even though I’ve been out to my family, friends and co-workers for years. In fact, an old boyfriend – now best friend – has always given me a hard time about not doing so. But for the same reason that Zach decided to come out, I too, no longer wanted to hide this part of my life.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Zachary Quinto Is Gay!

There have always been whispers, but now we know for sure: Zachary Quinto, the fabulously understated thesp who made pointy ears sexy again, has come out as a gay man in the pages New York Magazine. Speaking about his acclaimed turn in Angels In America, Quinto said:

...[it was] the most challenging thing I've ever done as an actor, and the most rewarding ... And at the same time, as a gay man, it made me feel like there’s still so much work to be done, and there’s still so many things that need to be looked at and addressed.

Of course, Zach was probably already "out" by the standards of ordinary people -- it's only famous folk who've got to come out both to their family and friends and to roomfuls of curious journalists with notepads. Still. He's done a very cool thing. A generation of closeted Trekkers will now grow up liking themselves that much more. Congrats, Zach!

UPDATE: This morning, Zachary published a lovely note on his blog, expanding upon his reasons for coming out. Excerpts below:

when i found out that jamey rodemeyer killed himself - i felt deeply troubled.  but when i found out that jamey rodemeyer had made an it gets better video only months before taking his own life - i felt indescribable despair ... it became clear to me in an instant that living a gay life without publicly acknowledging it - is simply not enough to make any significant contribution to the immense work that lies ahead on the road to complete equality. 

...we are witnessing an enormous shift of collective consciousness throughout the world.  we are at the precipice of great transformation within our culture and government.  i believe in the power of intention to change the landscape of our society - and it is my intention to live an authentic life of compassion and integrity and action.  jamey rodemeyer's life changed mine.  and while his death only makes me wish that i had done this sooner - i am eternally grateful to him for being the catalyst for change within me.  now i can only hope to serve as the same catalyst for even one other person in this world.  that - i believe - is all that we can ask of ourselves and of each other.

Zachary Quinto Won't Say if He's Gay

The NYT asks Angels in America star Zachary Quinto about rumors that he's gay.

While Mr. Quinto accepts the occasional fan ambush as part of the movie and television stardom package, he chooses to keep his distance from what he regards as mindless celebrity-gossip culture. “I’m grateful that celebrity or notoriety wasn’t thrust upon me when I was in my 20s, because I think I would have buckled under the weight of it, as so many people do,” he said. “But I’ve come to realize through experience that ultimately I really do have a lot of power in terms of the way I relate to the public or to people outside of my intimate circle of friends and family. Boundaries are very important to me.”

Despite Mr. Quinto’s efforts to keep his private life private, the blogosphere is rife with speculation about his sexuality, no doubt fueled by his support for gay rights and organizations like the Trevor Project. He prefers not to feed that rumor mill with either substantiation or dismissal. He speaks passionately about gay marriage, about “don’t ask, don’t tell” and about the recent wave of gay bullying and suicides.

“The fact that these things are such hot-button issues right now, socially and politically, I would much rather talk about that than talk about who I sleep with,” Mr. Quinto said. “I would love to be a voice in this maelstrom of chaos and obsessive celebrity infatuation that says, ‘Let’s talk about something that matters,’ ” he added.

Of course it's up to Quinto to decide when and how he comes out, if he is gay, but surely having out and proud examples matters to those considering harming themselves over their sexuality.

Quinto's 'It Gets Better' video, AFTER THE JUMP...

(via afterelton)

Zachary Quinto Takes On 50 Cent

Rapper 50 Cent attempted to clear up confusion over his ambiguously anti-gay tweet earlier today. His efforts may not have been successful, for actor and gay activist Zachary Quinto just send out a message taking on the musician's "hate."

Hat tip to reader KC!

News: Crater, Chelsea Clinton, Wikileaks, Sonoma County, Alcide

Wikileaks releases damning set of documents on Afghanistan, revealing Pakistani aid to insurgency.

Zachary Quinto rehearses for the revival of Angels in America in NYC.

Kings of Leon driven from concert by pigeon poop.

Pope Benedict has written a children's book called The Friends of Jesus.

President Obama to appear on The View on Wednesday: "The president will take the hot seat among the show's five female hosts, who represent a range of backgrounds and political views, at a time when his administration grapples with challenges from the economy to the BP oil spill."

UVA study: Positive development of adoptive children not related to sexual orientation of parents. "We found that children adopted by lesbian and gay couples are thriving."

Chelsea Clinton wedding price tag could top $2 million: "Smart money has the ClintVinskys tying the knot on the grounds of Astor Courts, a private, Versailles-inspired Beaux-Arts mansion on 50 acres overlooking the Hudson in Rhinebeck. The rehearsal dinner is said to be at a stone barn at nearby Grasmere, a 525-acre Revolutionary-era estate. Only those personally close to the bride or groom made it onto a tightly-held list that reportedly contains 400 to 500 names, more about which later."

What in the world has Eric McCormack been up to?

Best-preserved meteor crater in the world found via Google Earth.

Matt Rettenmund visits Andy Warhol: The Last Decade at the Brooklyn Museum.

Clean-up crews finding less surface oil in Gulf.

 "Reading on the toilet" is James Franco's favorite guy ritual.

Sonoma County settles out of court with Clay Green: "Their nightmare began only two years ago, and no one can undue the psychological damage done to Clay Green and Harold Scull or return to the surviving spouse the home and virtually all the property and personal possessions the two men had shared for 20 years, but their injuries have finally been acknowledged. Last Friday, just two days before his suit would have been opened in court, California's Sonoma County, agreed to a settle Greene's complaint out of court, for the amount of $653,000. Greene will retain $275,000, his lawyers will take $300,000*, and Scull's estate will be given the remainder. It was announced in the San Francisco Chronicle that the nursing home will pay $53,000, but it was not made clear where it will end up."

First look: Chris Evans as Captain America.

 Male model fix: Jamie Jewitt.

Direct action and political protest hashed out at Netroots Nation.

Alcide at Comic-Con.

The Kids Are All Right is this summer's sleeper hit: "When the film opened three weeks ago on seven screens, per-theater ticket sales averaged $72,127, the highest for any movie this year. This weekend, after growing from 35 to 201 venues, 'The Kids' continued its winning streak, generating more than $2.6 million (with another robust per-theater average of $13,173, the best of any film in release), bringing its cumulative box-office to just under $5 million."

Diane von Furstenburg has designed a "Team Pelosi" tote bag.

Michelle Rodriguez, on why the strong female characters she plays always get killed: Because I don't take my clothes off, and I'm nobody's girlfriend. The writers are new to the whole tough girl thing, and they don't know what to do with [me]. We've got the dude who's strong, so what do we do with the chick who's strong? We kill her."