"People think I'd be so ashamed of being gay that I wouldn't admit it? Oh, please."

Said Oprah, in a seeming denial that got everybody talking. Here's a big article about celebrities denying gay rumors. Are you just calling more attention to it? Are you setting up a thousand new jokes?

But about that Oprah quote. Is it even a denial that she's gay? "People think I'd be so ashamed of being gay that I wouldn't admit it? Oh, please." That's only saying it's ridiculous to think that I'm the kind of person who would be ashamed of being gay. If I were the interviewer, I'd want to ask: Yes, I know you wouldn't be ashamed of being gay, but as a popular mainstream daytime television personality, might you not reason that your audience is not ready to hear that someone like you is gay, and might you not decide to remain discreet about it in order to continue to reach them?

But let's look at the source material. It's an interview on the home territory of Oprah Magazine, with both Oprah and her best friend Gayle King.

Gayle: The truth is, if we were gay, we would so tell you, because there's nothing wrong with being gay.

Oprah: Yeah. But for people to still be asking the question, when I've said it and said it and said it, that means they think I'm a liar. And that bothers me.

Gayle: Well, particularly given how open you've been about everything else in your life.

Oprah: I've told nearly everything there is to tell. All my stuff is out there. People think I'd be so ashamed of being gay that I wouldn't admit it? Oh, please.

The boldface indicates possible hedging. But Oprah says "Yeah" to Gayle's initial statement, so she's either not gay or she is liar. And it would bother her if you thought that she was a liar.

And doesn't having a nonsexual best friend as good as Gayle seem highly desirable to you? It's not as though the relationship only makes sense if it's sexual.