Queerty has a provocative article (aren't they all?) about how Howard Bragman, the publicist behind country singer Chely Wright's coming out, may have led to undue pressure on closeted stars forced to deal with a temporarily extra-inquisitive media and may have jeopardized any of them actually coming out on their own.

I commented over there, but why give my candy away to other kids, right? In a nutshell, I think what Bragman wound up doing, purposefully or not, was showing all those closet cases that their big secret isn't. He also made everyone yawn when the star turned out not to be a superstar...but that yawn is also quite helpful in that all the closet cases in Hollywood will see that the world didn't end and that a significant chunk of their own market probably doesn't care. (Yes, it's different in that she doesn't have the endorsement deals and massive movie roles Queen Latifah might have, but it's still more positive than negative that she is going to benefit from coming out.)

I think overall he did a great service to the gay community...and Ms. Wright had nothing to lose either so she should be able to withstand a few, "Who the fuck are you, anyway?" comments. Mission accomplished.