Ten
years
ago,
millions
of
Americans
were
introduced
to
a
sexy,
smooth-talking,
20-something
Jamaican
named
Winston
Shakespeare
in
Terry
McMillan’s
semi-autobiographical
novel
“How
Stella
Got
Her
Groove
Back.”
In
2005,
the
world
met
the
real-life
inspiration
behind
Winston,
Jonathan
Plummer,
and
realized
that
“Stella”
wasn’t
grooving
happily
ever
after.
In
June
of
that
year,
McMillan
and
Plummer’s
May-December
marriage
ended
in
a
messy
divorce
after
Plummer
told
McMillan
that
he
is
gay.
McMillan
responded
by
telling
Oprah
Winfrey
and
anyone
else
who
would
listen
that
Plummer
conned
her
by
hiding
his
sexual
orientation
in
order
to
marry
into
money
and
gain
U.S.
citizenship.
In
March,
McMillan
filed
a
$40
million
defamation
and
extortion
lawsuit
against
Plummer,
whom
she
regularly
refers
to
as
a
“faggot.”
This
weekend,
Plummer
brings
his
side
of
the
story
to
Atlanta’s
Black
Gay
Pride
festival
as
he
kicks
off
a
national
book
tour
promoting
his
debut
novel,
“Balancing
Act.”
Plummer
also
co-hosts
In
The
Life
Atlanta’s
“Family
Feud”
game
show
on
Sept.
2.
“People
realize
that
she
wrote
her
story,
and
now
this
is
a
way
of
showing
an
alternative
side
of
my
story,”
Plummer
tells
Southern
Voice.
Just
as
“Stella”
was
loosely
based
on
McMillan’s
courtship
with
Plummer,
many
parts
of
“Balancing
Act”
harmonize
with
Plummer’s
real
life.
The
story
centers
around
Justin
Blakeman,
a
young
Jamaican
with
“hazel-green
eyes
offset
by
dark
chocolate
skin”
who
catches
the
attention
of
Tasha
Reynolds,
a
vacationing
powerhouse
modeling
agent.
Tasha
brings
her
Jamaican
boy
toy
to
America
where
the
two
of
them
engage
in
a
“complex
game
of
sexual
desire
and
control”
that
is
complicated
further
“when
Justin
discovers
a
hidden
hunger
for
a
male
model,"
according
to
the
promotional
material
put
out
by
the
book’s
publisher,
Simon
&
Schuster.
The
book
is
"fiction
with
a
purpose,
and
it’s
a
funny
and
sexy
story,"
the
author
says
of
"Balancing
Act,"
which
he
co-wrote
with
Karen
Hunter.
“It
mirrors
my
life
and
it
mirrors
my
coming
out
process,
but
the
main
character
Justin
Blakeman
is
a
hero,
and
I
don’t
really
consider
myself
a
hero.”
Lingering
Shadows
The
main
character’s
acceptance
of
his
sexual
orientation
is
more
immediate
and
honest
than
Plummer’s
real-life
experience,
which
is
why
the
author
considers
his
protagonist
a
hero.
Having
transitioned
from
an
icon
of
love
to
the
epitome
of
deception,
Plummer
wants
readers
to
know
that
while
he’s
no
angel,
he’s
not
the
backstabbing,
villainous
liar
McMillan
has
made
him
out
to
be.
“It
really
caught
me
off
guard
the
way
she
responded
and
how
bitter
she
is,”
Plummer
says.
“I
came
out,
I
wasn’t
found
out,
and
I
want
people
to
know
that.
She’s
been
telling
a
lot
of
people
she
caught
me,
but
that’s
definitely
not
true
—
I
decided
to
be
truthful
to
her.”
It
took
Plummer
about
two
years
to
complete
“Balancing
Act.”
He
crafted
it
as
a
piece
of
fiction
rather
than
an
autobiography
with
hopes
of
appealing
to
more
readers
—
and
because
he
isn’t
prepared
to
tell
his
life
story,
he
says.
“I
think
I’m
just
a
little
bit
too
young
for
that
yet,”
he
says.
“I’ve
still
got
a
lot
to
learn
and
a
lot
ahead
of
me.”
Plummer
yearns
for
the
day
when
he
escapes
McMillan’s
shadow,
something
he
is
a
long
way
from
accomplishing.
McMillan
also
remains
a
kink
in
Plummer’s
love
life.
“I’m
dating,
but
it’s
rough,”
Plummer
says.
“People,
their
impression
is
like,
‘Oh,
you’re
Terry
McMillan’s
ex-husband,’
and
there’s
a
lot
of
baggage
that
comes
with
that.
It’s
kind
of
hard
because
people
don’t
really
see
me
for
who
I
really
am;
all
they
see
is
Terry.
“I’m
a
good,
loving
person,
I
think,
and
so
hopefully
people
are
ready
to
see
me
for
who
I
am,”
he
adds.
Plummer,
who
says
his
first
sexual
experience
with
a
man
was
three
years
ago,
is
quickly
settling
into
his
identity
as
a
gay
man.
“It
was
a
little
scary
at
first,
but
the
more
[other
gay
men]
started
embracing
me,
then
I
felt
comfortable,”
he
says.
“Coming
out
means
honoring
who
you
are
on
the
inside,
and
I’m
still
coming
out.
I’m
a
work
in
progress.”
Queen
Cancels
Plummer
is
among
a
large
roster
of
celebrities
attending
Black
Gay
Pride,
but
the
entertainment
lineup
slimmed
down
last
week
when
the
“Queen
of
Soul”
announced
that
she
was
canceling
her
Labor
Day
weekend
concert
at
Chastain
Park
Amphitheatre.
Aretha
Franklin
was
scheduled
to
headline
Atlanta’s
Montreux
Jazz
festival,
and
discount
tickets
were
available
to
Pride
attendees
via
ITLA,
which
organizes
official
events
for
Black
Gay
Pride.
Zandra
Conway,
an
ITLA
board
...
