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The word on the information highway was that Cross would be coming out in The Advocate in May, and the rumors were soon reported on by the likes of CNN. Eventually Cross’s publicists took action, issuing a statement asserting that, while she is very supportive of the queer community, Cross is not a lesbian, and she said so directly during an appearance a few days later on The View. That the rumor was unfounded was a disappointment for many lesbian fans, but Cross at least handled it with grace.

Other popular but debunked lesbian rumors this year included that Jennifer Aniston was having an affair with Mark Wahlberg’s first (female) cousin (which Aniston's publicist called "preposterous"), that Laila Ali was dating Queen Latifah (which Ali denounced in a press release), and that Angelina Jolie and Jenny Shimizu were still romantically involved despite Jolie's relationship with Brad Pitt (although Shimizu didn't directly address the nature of the relationship between the two women, she denies ever talking to the tabloid that made the claims).

Singer Lesley Gore delivered an under-acclaimed performance in June when she quietly came out in an interview with AfterEllen.com. At age 59, the woman who was famous at 16 with the enduring hit “It’s My Party” confirmed what she had thought of until then as an open secret. Gore said she had never been able to keep her private life particularly private, with paparazzi camped out on the front lawn of her New Jersey home the day after her first single hit the airwaves back in 1963. Her next biggest hit, “You Don’t Own Me,” is one reason she eventually became one of the most sought-after entertainers at Gay Pride festivals across the U.S. A character played by Bridget Fonda in Grace of My Heart—a pop starlet whose squeaky clean, boy-crazed image belies that she’s a lesbian—was loosely based on the teenaged Gore. In the past two years Gore has hosted the PBS series In the Life, which celebrates LGBT history. The fact that she says she never saw a need for a “great gong in the head” type of coming out just goes to show that newly out celebrities are no longer big news--unless they’re dating other celebrities or their former coach.

This past summer, press-shy actress Sarah Paulson got caught in the spotlight while sitting in the audience at the Tony Awards. The 30-year-old film, TV and stage actor was holding hands with her girlfriend Cherry Jones, who kissed Paulson on the lips before taking to the stage when Jones was announced as winner of the Best Actress award in the play category. In her acceptance speech Jones said she was sharing the award with Paulson—referring to her by the name of the character Paulson was playing at the time in a Broadway revival of The Glass Menagerie. It was the first public, albeit thinly veiled, acknowledgment of the couple’s relationship, which had been no secret to industry insiders.

In 1995 Jones became the first Tony Award winner to come out publicly when she thanked a now-former partner at the awards ceremony that year. This year’s encore was accompanied with less fanfare than her debut—either a sign of the times or a sign of the unexciting nature of already spilled beans. All we can be sure of is that no other Tony Award winner has yet joined her ranks.

Although fans expected nothing less, Melissa Etheridge delivered the rebound performance of the year. After being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2004, Etheridge reemerged from treatment and recovery in time to appear at the Grammy Awards in February of 2005 with her actress wife Tammy Lynn Michaels. The rocker paid tribute to Janis Joplin in a triumphant performance that stole the show, proving that she may have lost her eyelashes to chemo, but not her edge.

Etheridge also released a new album, Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled, and unveiled a breast cancer awareness pin she designed that will raise funds for the Susan Love Foundation. This year Etheridge was honored with a Glamour magazine Woman of the Year Award and was listed as one of Out magazine's Top 100 people of the year.

Finally, Ellen DeGeneres continued to rake in the daytime Emmys this year, including an Emmy for Outstanding Talk Show Host on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, now in its third season. Altogether, the show added five awards to its name for a total of nine in its first two seasons—including awards for Outstanding Talk Show, Talk Show Host, Writing and Directing--and it continues to generate high ratings in its third season.

Which just proves that even for lesbians, there is no such thing as bad publicity.

Unless you're an NFL cheerleader.