NEW YORK (AP) -- Pop star Ricky Martin isn't bothered by persistent questions about his sexual orientation.

"I can't get hung up on people whose lives are that empty," he said in the Dec. 4 issue of People magazine. "I'm an artist and you can fantasize about me however you want."

Martin, whose Sound Loaded album was released this month, won't confirm or deny rumours he's homosexual. He simply says he's happily single.

Judy Wieder, editor-in-chief of The Advocate, a U.S. magazine for homosexuals, said Martin's attitude is a "major turning point" for pop culture.

"He's responding without squelching the rumours or immediately running around with a woman. And it doesn't seem to have impacted his sales at all," she said.

--AllPop