Gay rocker Michael Stipe has posted a spoof video on YouTube, claiming his R.E.M. band mates Peter Buck and Mike Mills announced today that they "are both, after years of awkward speculations, heterosexual or straight."

The video was released after R.E.M. gave an interview to SPIN magazine where Stipe talks about how it was to come out to his friends and family, and about how important it is for famous people to come out of the closet publicly.

"It was super complicated for me in the '80s. I was totally open with the band and my family and my friends and certainly the people I was sleeping with. I thought it was pretty obvious," Stipe says about his sexuality.

R.E.M. was formed in Athens, Georgia in 1980 by Michael Stipe (lead vocals), Peter Buck (guitar), Mike Mills (bass guitar), and Bill Berry (drums and percussion) and was one of the first popular alternative rock bands.

According to the Los Angeles Times, R.E.M. is considered to be one of the United States' "most liberal and politically correct rock groups."

See Stipe's video below:

Last update: 03-21-2008 17:36