Neil Patrick Harris remembers when Perez Hilton tried to out him!

[andy]

"How I Met Your Mother" and "Doogie Howser" actor Neil Patrick Harris remembers when he famously came out and the unfortunate part gossip monger Perez Hilton played in the matter.

He came out in an interview with People magazine in 2006 after months of gossip and rumours. Looking back, he says many of the rumors were started by Perez, who himself is gay.

"This was at the height of the Perez Hilton gossip blog-centric era," Harris recalls. "I had gone out of my way in interviews to be gender neutral in the way I would answer questions."

He continues, "If an interviewer would ask me where would you go on your perfect date, I would be gender-neutral intentionally so that I didn't feel like I was saying something that was not truthful."

Despite all his efforts, Perez still seemed intent on outing him.

He remembers when there was an interview in 2006 that claimed he was asked if he was gay and that his publicist had said that he was "not of that persuasion." That was the weird catalyst tipping point because that expression set Perez off - who was offended by that and then started posting about me and asking people to come forward with truths or stories. Then it became apparent that I needed to make some sort of decisive respectable move.

In an effort to get ahead of the narrative, Harris chose to go to People, telling the publication, "I am happy to dispel any rumors or misconceptions and am quite proud to say that I am a very content gay man living my life to the fullest and feel most fortunate to be working with wonderful people in the business I love."

On reflection, he says it ended up being "pretty much no big deal" and that it didn't seem to affect his career in any negative way.

"There were no 'God Hates F*gs' signs on my front lawn," he says. "There were no people shouting things as I walked anywhere. It was just another piece of incidental information in the non-sort of lives of celebrity people."

And while he doesn't seem to hold any grudges against him today, Harris is likely never going to forget what Perez did.

"Coming out wasn't simple for me, but I tried to represent myself well," he says. "All I was able to do is make some sort of statement that was respectful of [husband] David [Burtka], that was respectful of the query, and then to keep on trucking."

He adds, "I just think everyone needs to be proud of who they are. If you want to be super crazy, wonderfully flamboyant, wearing dresses to work and dancing in heels every day, you should. If your version of being gay in Hollywood means that you have a very personal, private life and you don't want your personal life to be a reflection of your professional life, you should."

He ends by saying "We need to practice tolerance as best as we can,".

[CellarDweller]

Neil Patrick Harris always seemed to be a really classy guy. Perez Hilton, yeah, not so much.