"officially" out of the closet: does it matter?

Let's judge the news. This just in (courtesy, of course, of the celebrity news feature on IMDb):

Hyde Pierce Officially Comes Out
Former Frasier star David Hyde Pierce has revealed he is gay, after keeping his sexuality secret for decades. The actor, who played Dr. Niles Crane in the long-running sitcom, has always refused to talk about his personal life, despite rumo[r]s about his sexual orientation. But the 48-year-old has allowed his long-term partner Brian Hargrove's name to be mentioned in an interview on CNN.com. In a paragraph carefully buried in the article, the journalist writes, "Pierce got to Los Angeles in the early 1990s when his partner, actor-writer-producer Brian Hargrove, wanted to write for television." Pierce's spokesperson has since confirmed Hargrove is the star's partner.

This blurb is the fifth news story of Friday, June 1. After we learn that Lindsay Lohan "likes" rehab now. After we learn Paula Abdul is upset that there has been a video leak of her (most recent) meltdown. Stars dealing with being stars. That's what tops the celebrity news. Do I envy them? No. Do I care? Not really. (I say "not really" because if I said "no" that would be a lie; my posting shows that I at least consider whatever the media is telling me I should care about.)

But the reason why I am posting is because I am surprised David Hyde Pierce's "officially" coming out of the closet is so far down the list of important news clips. I mean, when Lance Bass, Neil Patrick Harris, and T.R. Knight came out, their stories topped the news. I understand Knight was practically forced out, and that audiences of "Grey's Anatomy" (2005-present) subsequently felt that they couldn't fantasize about his character anymore now that they know "the truth" about his sexual orientation. (That they don't think they can fantasize about him anymore is BULLSHIT, and another story.)

For all intents and purposes, these guys are has-beens. Knight really never has been (though it can be argued that perhaps the controversy of his costar's homophobic slur is what made Knight). Hyde Pierce was on a popular comedy show for years and now he mainly walks the floorboards of Broadway.

Here's what I am getting at: I think this barely made the news because we've assumed for years that Hyde Pierce is gay. "Oh you are? Congratulations to me because I've had money riding on this. Next bit of celebrity gossip, please." Honestly, I cannot wait until Nathan Lane "officially" comes out.