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Redner still playing it straight, even though he isn't

By SUE CARLTON
Published December 14, 2005

You would think, after all those years and all those lap dance headlines, Tampa's strip club king couldn't possibly have anything surprising left to say.

And then Joe Redner goes and outs himself.

We're talking about the most unrepentant nude bar owner in town here, a man who has made a fine living surrounded by lithesome, naked women, our own grittier version of Hugh Hefner.

If you read the paper, you probably know something about Redner's First Amendment causes, his multiple arrests, his symbolic runs for office. You may recall his battles with politicians, some of whom he has taunted from the marquee of his most infamous club, the Mons Venus. (Printable example: "Hey Mayor Greco - Censor This.")

Never shy of controversy, Redner's the guy who offered a fat check when the Hillsborough County Commission voted to yank funding from a Planned Parenthood teen program. He's the one who, after Commissioner Ronda Storms said she did not want to have to explain homosexuality to her young daughter, brought a sign to a gay pride event that said, "Ronda, explain to your child what a homophobe is."

Lately, Redner has taken aim at the commission for banning the county from even acknowledging gay pride events. In an amended version of his lawsuit against the county and most of the commissioners, Redner said he himself is gay. That would make him a person directly affected by the anti-gay pride vote, not just an interested party. (Imagine the commission in the position of trying to prove Redner is not gay. Ahem.)

After Tuesday's front page story in the Times by reporters Jennifer Liberto and Justin George detailing his disclosure, some people didn't believe it. "Most people that know me think I'm making it up," Redner said Tuesday between a radio show and a TV interview.

For the sake of argument, let's assume Redner is indeed gay. Is a public figure's sexual orientation news? You might say no, private business, but in this case there's little argument. Discrimination against gays is the focus of the suit. Redner said he was gay in a public document, an assertion key to his case.

So what about other public figures? The fact that an elected official is gay may be as relevant as, say, the part of town he lives in. He's about to vote on putting a park in Oldsmar and he lives there. Sounds like news. If he were voting on a gay rights issue, the fact that he was gay might be news, too.

But here's an ugly fact: We live in a place where being openly gay can be a political liability. That may be in part why some of our local public officials keep that information private when it's an everyday fact to those around them, reporters included.

Anyway, back to Redner.

Maybe you hate the way he's made his money. And he's made lots of it, enough for him to be able to thumb his nose, push his causes and give to whatever charities he chooses.

Me, I like the fact that someone like Redner is around to balance out the self-righteous types, to be a thorn and a pest. The image of Redner getting applause at the jail upon his umpteenth arrest (he says there have been at least 150), presumably from guys who patronize his clubs and consider him a hero, makes me laugh. I keep expecting Redner to pop up as a character in a Carl Hiaasen novel.

The morning his disclosure made the paper, Redner says he got the same reaction at his gym that he gets every time he makes news - a sort of "go get 'em, Joe." A lawyer friend told him it was "a stroke of genius," Redner said. His phone rang with reporters, acquaintances and friends. He did not mind. "I like being the focus of attention," he said, this not being a disclosure at all.

People asked if it was true, and he said it was. "You think I'm going to commit perjury?" he asked me.

Should we care if Joe Redner is gay? Does it make any difference? Not really, not in any substantial way. Redner is pretty much who he is. Which I'm guessing is probably his point.

Sue Carlton can be reached at carlton@sptimes.com

[Last modified December 14, 2005, 00:13:09]