Is luther vandross gay

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I’m willing to stand behind it."

"It's not going to be for everybody.

"Somebody didn’t do their research or someone likes messiness.

Continuing, “On the other hand, I’m not homophobic; I wouldn’t want to be homophobic, so what we tried to do was have the people who loved him and knew him talk about his desire to be private and then say, ‘We’re going to respect how he wanted to live his life and what he wanted to say.’”

Porter did receive Sony and Vandross’ family’s blessing to create the film, granting her access to 80 hours of rehearsal footage, 150 hours of archival footage, and over 2,000 exclusive images.

She revealed, “The family is sensitive about some things, and I had a lot of respect for that, but they also had a lot of respect for me as a filmmaker and knew that all the aspects of his story should be told, so everybody’s happy.”

The famed director later noted that “he didn’t have a perfect life by any means, so we addressed all of that.

Certainly, nowadays that wouldn't be the case as society is more accepting, though it was too late for Luther who died on 1st July 2005.

A new documentary has been scheduled for release at the start of 2025 - twenty years after Vandross' passed away - to celebrate his legacy.

Never Too Much will reveal more about Luther's life and career, delving into his immense talent alongside his struggles with weight and sexuality.

Williams said about the documentary: "I recently viewed it again and I enjoyed it a lot.

“He’s the soundtrack to America, not just the soundtrack for Black people,” she gushed. But, he never officially came out. But I think for all of us, your struggles and how you respond to those struggles, that’s the story.” Most of all, Porter shared that her goal with the documentary was to celebrate his talent.

I think it is very inclusive of everything and you'll get to see it and come up with your opinion."

"It doesn't hide anything. So through his lyrics, I think you get to know a little bit more about him.”

Two of the most sensitive topics when it comes to discussing Luther Vandross are his weight and his sexuality.

Was that something you talked about, at all?" the talk show host asked. The beloved vocalist died at age 54 from a heart attack, two years after a stroke left him in a two-month coma — ultimately, leaving him wheelchair-bound and damaging his ability to speak or sing.

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Luther Vandross' niece opens up on why late singer kept his personal life private

2 July 2024, 10:38

Few knew much about Luther Vandross's personal life.

R&B icon Luther Vandross was notorious for keeping his private life as private as it could be, despite being one of the most celebrated singers of his generation.

Even before the 'Dance With My Father' star entered the charts as an artist in his own right, his voice could be heard in countless records.

“What’s challenging, of course, is that he’s not here to speak for himself, and he chose to keep his private life private,” she explained. The documentary comes nearly 20 years after Vandross’ death in 2005. It was basically, he did not want his mother to be -- although she might have known -- but he wasn't going to come out and say this to the world."

The music icon added: "And he had a lot of lady fans and he told me that he just didn't wanna upset the world...

It hits many layers of who he is or was and how he got there and what happened for or to him.”

The documentary's director Dawn Porter added: "What we tried to do was balance, here’s how Luther handled those questions in his life."

"But it was really, really important to me and I hope the viewer senses, I’m trying to honour how he lived, because it’s important to not out people when they do not want to be outed and when they did not choose that...

Luther Vandross’ Documentary Director Details How She Tackled Controversial Topics Like His Weight And Sexuality

Dawn Porter, director of Luther: Never Too Much, is speaking out about his life, legacy, and the struggle to get his story right in the upcoming documentary about the pioneering crooner.

“I really wanted him to be able to tell you his story as much as possible, so how do you do that with someone who’s not with us?” she told The Hollywood Reporter in a recent interview.

After being discovered by and recruited as a backing singer by David Bowie on his 1975 album Young Americans, Luther went on to sing with Chaka Khan, Barbra Streisand, Carly Simon, Bette Midler, Donna Summer, and even Roxy Music.

Of course, we know him for the Grammy Award-winning voice he evolved into, with songs like 'Never Too Much' and 'Endless Love' becoming major chart successes.

"I know that he wanted to be known as a premier singer of his time and he accomplished that no question," his niece Seveda Williams told People magazine, who know him better than most.

Cohen asked LaBelle if the two of them ever spoke about his sexuality and the possibility of him one day telling the world his truth. I hope people see him as human, a man who had a great career, but a man who lived a life."

Patti LaBelle: Luther Vandross Didn't Come Out As Gay Because Of His Mom

When Vandross was alive, there was speculation that he was gay.

It was hard for him."

Watch Patti LaBelle speak about Luther Vandross below.

I’m going to let him have the last word."

Confusion and misinformation around Luther's death still exist today, especially after Madonna added him to an in-memoriam video at one of her recent concerts, with the Vandross estate requesting he be removed.

'He was thrown up there, as far as I’m told, as a person who had passed away from AIDS," says Williams.

[On] ‘Any Love,’ he was just endlessly frustrated with the absence of a romantic partner in his life. He was the last, in my opinion, true king of romance. “A lot of that was thinking about the lyrics. Of the latter, Porter agrees that outing someone is wrong.