Neil Patrick Harris’ confession about feeling pressured to come out publicly nearly two decades ago has unexpectedly brought one of his most controversial past moments back into the spotlight.
The How I Met Your Mother star recently detailed how invasive gossip bloggers made him fear becoming their next target, eventually pushing him to take control of the narrative.
Highlights
- Neil Patrick Harris revealed how invasive gossip bloggers pressured him into publicly coming out in 2006.
- His candid confession has reignited backlash over the infamous Amy Winehouse-themed platter from his 2011 Halloween party.
- Netizens remain divided over whether Harris’ past controversy should overshadow his recent coming-out story.
But as his comments resurfaced, some netizens were quick to bring up the infamous Amy Winehouse controversy involving Harris’ Halloween party years ago.
One critic bluntly wrote, “I simply don’t care because of the Amy Winehouse meat platter.”
Neil Patrick Harris said coming out in 2006 felt like an inevitability rather than a personal choice
During his recent appearance on Great Company with Jamie Laing, Neil opened up about his s**uality and the circumstances surrounding his public coming out in 2006.
The actor explained that he had known he was gay since his early teens, but had not publicly discussed it for much of his early career.
He also said he had dated David Burtka, now his husband, well before he auditioned for How I Met Your Mother.
By the time Harris landed the role of Barney Stinson, the people working on the sitcom already knew Burtka and knew that the two were a couple.
“When I got the job, everyone on that show knew David, knew that we were a couple,” he recalled.
At the time, however, the couple was navigating a very different media environment.
At the time, gossip bloggers like Perez Hilton were increasingly obsessed with identifying celebrities rumored to be gay, and Harris said he feared becoming the next person publicly targeted.
Neil explained that he and Burtka would sometimes attend movie premieres together, but they had to carefully navigate the photographers.
While Harris would walk the red carpet, David would go around the other side of the photographers.
The actor revealed how invasive gossip bloggers made him fear that his private life could become a public scandal
They could technically justify the arrangement as keeping their relationship private, but Neil acknowledged that it could still make Burtka “feel less than” while Harris got to publicly walk the carpet.
Then the speculation became more direct.
The 53-year-old star recalled that someone had asked a publicist about his s**uality, and the publicist reportedly responded that he was “not of that persuasion.”
Rather than putting the rumors to rest, the comment only created more questions.
Harris said the situation eventually reached the point where he realized, “I’m gonna have to say something. I got to get ahead of the story.”
“I don’t want to be coming out in reaction to ‘If anyone has any information on Neil Patrick Harris, have you ever slept with him, please come forward,’” he explained.
So he worked with his then-agent and publicist to carefully prepare a statement that felt authentic to him.
Harris ultimately publicly confirmed that he was gay in November 2006, describing himself as a “very content gay man” in his statement at the time.
But despite knowing the announcement was the right decision for him, Neil admitted that he was nervous about what could happen afterward.
“I think at that point I was a little scared that, like, what would come from that,” he said, referring to the possibility of stigma.
Neil’s recent confession resurfaced his Amy Winehouse controversy following the singer’s tragic passing in 2011
The actor pointed out that this was a period when openly LGBTQ+ celebrities could face significant hostility.
He joked that the situation had the potential to be “a bad week.”
Instead, the reaction was surprisingly muted.
“I was a little bit offended that more people weren’t surprised,” he admitted, explaining that he had expected more of a reaction along the lines of, “Wait, what? Him?”
The A Series of Unfortunate Events star’s recent comments quickly took an unexpected turn online, as many brought up a controversial Halloween party he hosted with Burtka in 2011.
The party took place just months after Amy Winehouse passed away at age 27, on July 23, 2011, and its centerpiece was a grotesque meat platter designed to resemble the singer's deceased body.
Although it has frequently been referred to online as an “Amy Winehouse cake,” it was actually a savory meat display made with beef ribs, pulled pork and chicken sausage.
A card beside it reportedly identified the centerpiece as “The C**pse of Amy Winehouse.”
The display also incorporated recognizable elements associated with Winehouse, including her beehive hairstyle, tattoos and c**arette.
The image shared by a guest resurfaced years later and sparked renewed outrage over the timing and subject of the joke.
Critics argued that turning Amy’s passing and her highly publicized struggles with a**iction into Halloween imagery crossed a line.
Harris had served an infamous, grotesque platter styled as Amy’s deceased body at a Halloween party he hosted
“I simply don’t care because of the Amy Winehouse meat platter,” one person reacted to Neil’s latest confession about his coming-out experience.
Another commented, “Yo that Amy Winehouse c**pse cake was an odd idea by him and very creepy.”
Others expressed, “I guess I'm sorry he was forced to come out, but him paying human dollars to have that cake made is still weird.”
“The way NPH disrespected Amy Winehouse after her d**th was so incredibly jaw-dropping disgusting.”
Previously, when the photograph went viral in 2022, Harris issued an apology to Entertainment Weekly, acknowledging that the display was something he regretted.
“A photo recently resurfaced from a Halloween-themed party my husband and I hosted 11 years ago,” Harris said in his statement. “It was regrettable then, and it remains regrettable now.”
Harris also pushed back against any suggestion that the incident reflected how he viewed Winehouse herself, praising the singer as a “once-in-a-generation talent.”
“I’m sorry for any hurt this image caused,” he added.
Despite the apology, the controversy has continued to resurface whenever Neil's past becomes a topic of online discussion.
“Don’t feel bad for someone who had a d**d amy wine house cake at party,” one netizen wrote
