The speculation seemed to go on a bit long , she even broke the fourth wall during an episode , pulled out a gossip magazine and asked her friends if they thought the rumors were true . There were out celebrities at the time like Bernhardt , Navratilova and K . D . Lang , who was probably known more for that than her music . Oddly enough at that age I was more aware of gay celebrities than of political or social homophobia , the Episcopal church I went to never talked about gays in any context , and I wasn ' t following enough news or in a coastal enough city to probably be aware of any issues . I also remember she did some romantic comedy with Bill Pullman that was released either right before or after she came out via the Time cover , admittedly homophobic I thought it was a little contradictory . I remember watching her on Open House , that spinoff of Duet on Fox with Chris Lemmon an Alison LaPlaca she was a receptionist and did that whole stream of consciousness schtick when she was answering the phone , it was always a solid laugh .