New Film Tells Chely Wright's Coming Out Story

When country music singer Chely Wright was deciding how she was going to publicly come out of the closet, she happened upon a movie poster for a documentary she had seen on LOGO in a publicist’s office in New York City. The film, Be Real, by Beverly Kopf and Bobbie Birleffi, had made an impact on Chely, after having lived so many years in the closet, and she tracked down the filmmakers to find out if they’d be interested in documenting her journey to becoming the first openly gay mainstream country music singer.

“We hadn’t heard of Chely and we couldn’t imagine why she wanted to see us,” recalls Beverly and Bobbie, “But after about five minutes of meeting her and listening to her story, we were hooked! We knew this could be the project of a lifetime.”

Two years and one very touching memoir later, Chely Wright’s coming out might just be the most well planned in celebrity history. If you hadn’t heard of her before, then you certainly have by now. She has appeared on Ellen and Oprah as well as People magazine, countless local morning television shows, radio shows, and a handful of gay pride parades. She has danced all night at Melissa Etheridge’s birthday party and signed books all day at the West Hollywood book store. She’s so out, she’s contagious. Just last week, progressive radio talk show host Stephanie Miller came out of the closet while interviewing her!

All of which is to say — Beverly and Bobbie have some good footage on their hands. In order to find out more, I asked them a few questions about their process, what it was like to talk to people in Nashville about coming out, and how Chely’s decision to “be real” has made a difference in other people’s lives.

Did you have a difficult time getting folks in Nashville to talk to you about this subject?

Chely decided early on that she wanted to come out in a public way because she wanted her story to reach as many people as possible. In order to do that, everyone around her had to keep her secret. So we were not able to contact people in Nashville until after Chely came out. We had about 2-3 weeks to research and lock in our Nashville interviews. We were very fortunate in receiving lots of support from people like legendary producer Tony Brown, Rodney Crowell, the producer of her new CD, Lifted Off the Ground, and Bill Cody, the WSM (Grand Ole Opry) radio DJ. However, when it came to trying to book A-list stars who are friends and colleagues of Chely’s to appear in the film, it turned out to be trickier than we expected. That will play itself out in the film.

Is Nashville and country music a microcosm of America or is it unique?

Nashville itself is a very unique place — a creative town, full of songwriters, musicians and a very tight-knit country music industry. This is not a microcosm of America! However, what Nashville sells is an image that is an image of the white working class part of America—and the patriotic, Christian conservative part of America as well.

From your perspective, how has Chely's coming out gone over?

From supportive book signing events to nasty anonymous blogs and country radio interviews, to concerts in the gay community where she was cheered by thousands, it has been a roller coaster. Part of what we are trying to show in the film is the complexity of responses. There are “silent haters,” who don’t speak what they are really feeling and there are Christians, for whom this is a difficult issue.  The camera, however, has its own truth.

Do you expect other country music stars to follow Chely out of the closet?

No, we do not expect other country artists to follow Chely out of the closet.  As we were told on more than one occasion, there’s just no upside to doing it, but lots of potential downside. Some other country star may eventually come out, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.

How do you think the country music community will receive your film?

Well, the truth is — we don’t know. What we do know is that we are paying a lot of attention to how we present Nashville, not as a monolith of homophobia, but as a very successful business that markets to a predominantly conservative audience; and as a community in transition, just like the rest of the country.

What was most surprising to you about this whole process?

A lot of things surprised us about this process. First, of course, was Chely’s courage and willingness to lose some of the things that meant the most to her: playing for the troops, performing at the Grand Ole Opry. But what was equally fascinating and surprising was watching the response of members of her family, whom she, in a very real way, outed when she came out. You won’t really understand what we mean until you see the film.

Has Chely's coming out made a difference?

Chely Wright has already saved lives. We know because young people have come up to her and told her that they were able to come out to their parents because of her; or that they decided not to kill themselves because of her. Chely connects with people in parts of the country where being gay is not acceptable and she presents a very positive image of a gay woman. She hasn’t always changed people’s minds on the subject, but she has started a conversation.

Do you think her coming out will change the direction of her career?

As we discovered while making this film, there really is a reason why no other country music star has ever come out publicly. The risk of losing one’s career is real. So yes, there is a definite possibility that coming out will change the direction of Chely’s career. She may in fact lose her country career. What remains to be seen is whether other audiences, including the LGBT community, will embrace her.

When will we get to see the film?

When it’s finished is really the only answer we can give you. We’ve made a commitment to each other and to our extraordinary editor, Lisa Palattella, that we have put too much of our lives into this film to rush it along in the hopes of getting into some film festival or another.  All we can say for sure is that whenever and however it comes out – it’s going to be the film we wanted to make. Early 2011 is our best estimate.

Where does the film’s title come from?

"Wish Me Away" is the title of one of our favorite songs on Chely’s new album. Just about everyone, including Chely herself, at some point or another – just wished her being gay would go away. It’s kind of our version of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” It was the very first title we picked, thinking it would evolve into something else. It never did and we love it.

To learn more about the film,  visit www.wishmeawaydoc.com.