The famous Santa Claus who signals the finale to every Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade doesn’t have a same-sex marriage partner after all, according to organizers of the 77-year-old event.
 Macy’s Santa (Photo: NYC & Company) |
Responding to claims made in a guest editorial in the New York Times today, a parade spokeswoman, Elina Kazan, told WorldNetDaily the official Mrs. Claus will not be depicted by cross-dressing Broadway actor Harvey Fierstein.
Fierstein, who won the 2003 Tony Award for his performance in “Hairspray,” wrote that on Thanksgiving day, “to the delight of millions of little children (not to mention the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court), the Santa in New York’s great parade will be half of a same-sex couple.”
Fierstein was referring to the recent landmark decision in Massachusetts in which the state’s highest court struck down a ban on same-sex marriage.
But parade spokeswoman Kazan insisted Fierstein is “misleading” people. He will appear in the parade, but only as housewife Edna Turnblad, his character in “Hairspray,” doing his own alternative version of Mrs. Claus on a separate float.
The guest editorial, however, has set off a “firestorm,” Kazan said, prompting a barrage of calls to the department store chain’s headquarters
Macy’s has not resolved the issue with Fierstein.
“We are are in talks with him,” Kazan said, “but he was in his Broadway show last night and is just getting up this morning.”
In his satirically spiced editorial, Fierstein said, “And guess who [Santa’s] other half will be? Me! Harvey Fierstein, nice Jewish boy from Bensonhurst, dressed in holiday finery portraying the one and only Mrs. Claus.”
“Won’t America get a kick out of that?” he asked, before taking on a more serious tone. “But what if Santa really was gay? Could there be another Mr. Claus? Would those grinches who, as we speak, are fashioning legislation to deny marriage to gay and lesbian Americans make an exception for the jolly old soul? What has Santa ever done except bring joy and gifts to all? Just the sight of his face is enough to bring a smile to the Scroogiest of politicians. Would his gifts of love and goodwill be answered with exclusion and derision?”
Fierstein went on to list famous Americans regarded as homosexuals, including Walt Whitman, Stephen Sondheim and Aaron Copeland, arguing the country would be poorer without their contributions.
“The Bush administration spends billions spreading freedom abroad while at home it devises legislation to deny equal rights to gays and lesbians,” he said. “What is it with you people, anyway? Are you so insecure about the way you handle marriage that you’re scared gay folk will show you up? Trust me, we will make as much of a mess out of matrimony as you do. Just give us a chance.”
Fierstein continued: “In the end all I can say is this: If I really was Santa’s life partner, you can believe that he would ask and I would tell about who has been naughty or nice on this issue.”
He concluded: “Happy holiday and remember to wave to me on my float. I’ll be the man in the big red dress.”
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