 I have never had paparazzi chasing me down the street or A Current Affair bursting down my door
with an attempt at an exclusive interview before the release of my latest
movie... but as soon as the hubby started catching people staring at me as we
did our weekly grocery shopping at Woolworths at Howrah, I knew it was going to
have to end.
But not before the Leukaemia Foundation feature on both WIN
and Southern Cross news. And the whacky ad with my co-host about some
ridiculous radio promotion we were part of. And the feature story in some
obscure health magazine. And the invasion of my privacy in a rather saucy Wikipedia
entry. And a stupid video of my co-host and I singing our best interpretation
of Kylie and Jason’s Especially For You
for some celebrity trivia night.
To quote Rihanna’s latest;
Well, you’ve put on a
quite a show
Really had me going
Now it’s time to go
Curtain’s finally falling
That was quite a show
Very entertaining
But it’s over now
Go on and take a bow
After seven years of working breakfast radio around regional
Australia I pulled the pin on the stupid pranks and TV ads and the pressure to
pick a charity to be seen to be supporting “because it makes you more relatable
to our target audience” to start a new life out of the public eye.
To celebrate we’re on holidays on the mainland hanging with
people I don’t have to pretend with. Friends. You know, those people who didn’t
know me as “that guy on the radio”, but as “that guy we like drinking with”.
I first came out at 19 and totally went off the rails. In a
fit of religious fervour I crawled back in the closet at 23. At 28 I popped
back out again when I realised that the Assemblies of God and I were like oil
and water. Now at 34 I get to live with integrity. Now that’s a word that
doesn’t get brought up much in gay circles. For me, integrity means that I
don’t pretend that I am happy about being awake at 4am on a Monday morning.
Integrity is not having to pretend I give a damn about Geelong’s performance on
Saturday at Skilled Stadium. Integrity means that I can swear, smoke and drink
in public without fear of offending a precious listener. Integrity is liberty.
Dare I say it in this most public of forums (where I know
Google indexes these articles at least once a week)?
Yes I do.
My name is Dante Daniel Sebastian St James.
And with Shirley Bassey as my witness, I shall never pretend
to be straight again.
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