March 8, 2011 | Celeb Watch

REM's Michael Stipe only 80 percent gay

51-year-old REM frontman Michael Stipe wanted people to know the exact percentage of his gayness. Apparently, it is 80 percent.

The singer said: “On a sliding scale of sexuality I’d place myself around 80-20, but I definitely prefer men to women. I had sex with, and enjoyed sex with, women until I met someone that I fell in love with, and who is now my boyfriend.”

Um, okay. 

Stipe also talked about how AIDS in the 1980s made it difficult for him to figure out his place in the queer community.

“For a time I was conflicted by how I was represented, and then AIDS came, and that’s an era that has still be to be spoken about in depth by people of my age," he explained. "It was a very difficult time to be honest and frank about one’s sexuality. And a very scary time for people like myself, who were not able to be tested anonymously without some concern.”

You can read more of Stipe's interview here.