Do you think celebs really have 'showmances' purely for PR purposes?

[robotcartrainhat]

This never occurred to me before...
I had thought that sometimes before a film comes out or something, that to create extra publicity the production company with the agreement of the actors might get a few pap photos of the stars looking vaguely like they were maybe on a date or whatever...

But whole relationships?
Surely thats a bit of a conspiracy thing?

But ive noticed otherwise reasonable friends saying it about Cumberbatch and his wife, Tom Hiddleston and Taylor Swift. actually Taylor Swift with anyone... and Tom Cruise with anyone, George and Amal Clooney....

And I just dont really buy it? That anyone would or could go to those lengths just for self promotion? Bring that type of attention on themselves?

If you think these relationships are fake can I ask why or if you have any concrete reason to believe that?

Not that in the grand scheme of things it really matters either way... but im just really curious as to why people seem to really believe that this goes on? maybe they know something I dont?

I do think it’s depressing that in this day and age people add up Bloke A has been known to have relationships with men + Bloke A is now marrying woman B

Marriage is sham and woman B is either a professional beard or is also gay and covering it up.

It’s 2018; can we really not think of an alternative explanation?

The various Scientologist wives OTOH are clearly just plain beards.

There are a lot of responses on here assuming that being gay wouldn't bother anyone...LGTB relationships are illegal in 74 countries, gay people are ostracised and abused in many cultures...including in some religious and family cultures in the USA and in the good old UK. Would Russian people watch the films? or Chinese people? Both of these are big markets.
Ask Rupert Everett whether it harmed his career. Or more recently ask Kristin Stewart and Ellen Page.

yes but its the extent to which people are willing to sacrifice their personal lives and identities to further their careers which boggles my mind...
I mean Kristin Stewart is a good actress who is constantly in work and pretty well known. Being bi may have held her back from making absolutely millions in someplace like China or Russia... but im pretty sure she is still extremely wealthy and successful...
So the point is I cant quite believe that the amount of people who are suggested here would actually hide being gay... as it wouldnt actually harm their careers to the extent that they wouldnt still be pretty wealthy and successful...
Ellen Page is also incredibly successful and very well respected...
and she does get cast in a variety of rolls including as a het romantic lead.

US movie stars aren't really given the option of “be a big star in the US and don’t bother about BRIC” though. The studios care very much about international box office and they’re not prepared to do anything that will compromise that.

Ben Wishaw also gets cast in good roles. I do wonder whether actors are just experimental by nature, so are more open to bisexuality. I'd imagine that there are some actors, maybe those typically cast as romantic leads who are in the closet, probably because their agents tell them to hide it but most actors aren't attractive enough to play romantic leads.

Please tell me George and Amal are true!

I'm sure that actors, singers etc do compromise their beliefs and sexual identity early in their careers in the hope of a bit of minor media buzz, and I can totally imagine that studios do not pick actors who don't fit the image they wish to sell. I'm also sure that there are still some celebrities who are hiding who they are for a variety of reasons. I can see why for example it might have been an issue for Taylor Swift if had had relationships with women as she is in the country music business and I can quite imagine that her prime audience was socially conservative. However there is a big difference between a temporary 'boyfriend' to flash to the papps and getting married and having children.

Plus the Clooneys married and live in the UK so any sham marriage would have come with a huge financial risk to him. Much less risky to marry and live in one of the States which have legally binding pre nup agreements.

benedict cumberbatch has theeeee crayzeeist fans.

But taylor swift has had more boyfriends than I've had and I'm 20 years older than her. How does a gay person end up having ten boyfriends. Her songs make the relationships sound really convincing too.

I'm a taylor stan.

Anyone who comes out seems to wait until they've made it to do so, when their name balances out any negativity because the sad fact is the world is still quite homophobic. Kristin Stewart wouldn't be as famous as she is if she'd refused the true luff fauxmance to promote Twilight or made it seem less real by coming out. She wouldn't have got the part at all because the fauxmance will have been a massive part of the promotion for the movies. Ellen Page came out after her career was well established too.

Taylor won't come out because of the fear that she won't sell as many albums when her love/hate songs are about her girlfriends rather than boyfriends. Her audience is still young with parents being the money behind the purchases and plenty of homophobic parents would block their kids. It's all about money money money. And a gay person can easily have boyfriends, many of them, if she wants to. Especially if they are being paid and getting a boost to their careers out of it 😂

I cant believe she is though.

TS is originally a country star from the American South so had to pretend to be straight. I think that boyband members are pressured to be straight too as their fans often fantasize that the music is about them and being gay bursts that bubble.

Coming out is super risky. Remember Ellen's gf Anne Heche? IMDb tells me that she's still working but her film with Harrison Ford was considered to have bombed because she cane out and people didn't buy her as a romantic lead.

I have no doubt that showmances are common place. A guy can pretend he prefers to sleep around but female stars are hounded by "What's wring with her?" Stories if she doesn't date and have babies. Eg Jennifer Aniston

I think dating someone who is at the top of their game in a different show business genre is good for the career. Eg a model dating a musician makes the guy look like he's rock and roll for dating a sexy woman (who's sexier than a model?) and the model seems like a cut above the other models for dating a musician. They both get work in the other's industry (the model in music videos, the musician in magazines and billboards) which is a win-win all round.

The lead actors in a movie is an obvious one and cheap marketing for the film. With so many movies you hear that X and Y in Z movie have so much chemistry that their spouse is pissed off type stories or you see pics of them eating lunch together or walking while sipping Starbucks...

I can’t believe the Kanye one. I thought he loved Kim

Wasn't Chris Hemsworth set up on a date with his now wife by their mutual agent? I think it was meant to be a showmance for a red carpet event but they actually hit it off. I think he's quite open about how they met.

What does your DB say about that Australin singing dancing superhero? Arent the rumours the same about him and his wife?

O think they're genuine. I just think people can't believe that a good looking man could live a woman so much older than him. They fantasize that if they were him they would trade her in for a supermodel. Same with Pierce Brosnan. Even though there are no rumours about him there are always articles about him inviting snide comments.

Yes I believe it happens. Certainly it did in the days of the studios having a lot of control - particularly to cover for gay members of the industry - not just the actors.

Rock Hudson
Cary grant
Vincente Minnellli

I have strong suspicions about current stars too, particularly sports now as there's still far too much homophobia there. But there's an 80's till now film star I'm actually a big fan of, not popular on mn but I suspect they're gay and their relationships have been for show, with agreements between the participants. They get to hide the gay, their spouses got a HUGE boost career wise.

I think George & Amal are a genuine one, she was doing pretty well for herself in her field before they got together, he did always strike me as a commitment phobe rather than gay and it's not uncommon for these types to want to settle down when older and facing their own immortality - and want to procreate at that point too.

And misogyny being alive and well, it's easier to be a gay man than a gay woman in celebrity circles now. So if TS is I can well understand why she's keeping it discreet - but it's not on to mess with people's emotions (if she is) by being less than honest about the situation.

SuperSuperSuper - because it's all relative, however much money or game or success they have - they can still want more! Otherwise celebs would just retire ridiculously early if they're very successful in 20's/30's and just live off what they'd already earned/royalties.

"but can anyone really live a lie that deeply now days when its so easy to follow people and take pics..." It's possible if you have deep enough pockets AND are known for being litigious - you may not be able to buy them all off but you can certainly make people want to avoid getting sued, especially by someone with enough money to take it all the way!

As a bi woman myself, while it is lovely that mners think it shouldn't be an issue, I can assure you even in the uk lgbt people still get a rough time - on nights out, from family, affecting careers... We're not COMPLETELY enlightened yet. And as pp said in many other countries (where these stars are selling themselves/their product and may be visiting) it can still be very taboo, even illegal.

"Ask Rupert Everett whether it harmed his career. Or more recently ask Kristin Stewart and Ellen Page." Exactly!

Letsallhaveanap - remember it's not just the stars themselves that consider the ramifications but also those hiring them - the studios/record companies won't hire people that can't sell the product or worse will actively turn buyers off.

The clooney's married in Italy. Not sure what the laws are there re divorce, pre-nups etc or if his being American and her British are factors?

Not sure if it's been mentioned already but Clooney was previously married for a few years in the early nineties, to Talia Balsam (Mona Sterling in Mad Men - she is now married to her onscreen husband Roger Sterling/John Slattery so in my opinion she traded up!)

Following

Pingu I wondered about those photos of Kstew and the married director. Thought maybe she wanted out of her “relationship” with Robert Pattinson?

Whenever someone gets “married” especially abroad eg ITALY just bare in mind you don’t exactly see any marriage certificate published... are Kim and Kanye actually even married?

I do think relationships are set up, absolutely. Including sham ones.

Bradley Cooper for example - maybe he just had a very private life. But there are maybe three sets of photos a year of him and his partner. It doesn’t take much to convince the public of a relationship when you have PR people and PAs to schedule public displays of affection

I've always thought the kstew and director pictures were to try and make her look super straight when the bisexual/gay rumours were starting to float about. Especially if the twilight fauxmance contract was about to wind down. The timing of the "breakup" would have supported the bisexual/gay stuff so they went hard on the maneater angle for the "breakup" to sway away from that story. Big franchise about to end means needing to stay as employable as possible so no coming out right then.

But to buy into that idea you also have to buy into the idea that the director fellas marriage was about to end anyway and him and his wife agreed to play along too. I can't see that happening so who knows!

rainingcatsanddog
Coming out is super risky. Remember Ellen's gf Anne Heche? IMDb tells me that she's still working but her film with Harrison Ford was considered to have bombed because she cane out and people didn't buy her as a romantic lead.

Or indeed Ellen herself. Yes she has made a successful comeback but her career was in tatters, her show got cancelled and until the talk show and then Nemo it looked doubtful she would ever have a career again.

I always think Kendall is gay. And Cheryl. Cristiano has to be, if you look at his lifestyle until he got with georgina. Why would he not wait and have children with Irina? Who is now with Bradley. And some
Of her past makes me think she is a beard for him as well.