In case you didn't know, Michael Stipe is gay


R.E.M. singer and 90's icon Michael Stipe has come out of the closet in the current issue of Spin magazine. While we thought Stipe announced he was gay about 15 years ago (does anyone recall a story Courtney Love once told about Stipe-Frances Bean's godfather-spending a night with Kurt Cobain?), apparently his sexuality has been under wraps till now. "I recognize that to have public figures be very open about their sexuality helps some kid somewhere out there," Stipe says in the interview. Well, now that R.E.M. are back and have just come back from some shows at SXSW, perhaps this will generate some buzz to a generation unfamiliar with "Losing My Religion."