Archive:Homophobic remarks by celebrities

This article is a list of allegedly homophobic remarks made by celebrities.

List of celebrities

References will be provided whenever possible. Purpose of this article is not to prove which of these celebrities really is or was homophobic but to compile a list of controversies regarding alleged homophobic remarks or behaviour and their discussion in the media.

Gibson, Mel

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) accused Gibson of homophobia after a December 1991 interview in the Spanish newspaper El País. Asked what he thought of gay people, he said, "They take it up the ass." Gibson then proceeded to point at his posterior and said: "This is only for taking a shit." When reminded that he had worked closely with gays at drama school, Gibson said, "They were good people, kind, I like them. But their thing is not my thing." When the interviewer asked if Gibson was afraid that people would think he is gay because he's an actor, Gibson replied, "Do I sound like a homosexual? Do I talk like them? Do I move like them? What happens is when you're an actor, they stick that label on you."

Gibson later defended his comments on Good Morning America, saying, "[Those remarks were a response] to a direct question. If someone wants my opinion, I'll give it. What, am I supposed to lie to them?" In his 1995 Playboy interview, he responded to GLAAD's protests over his comment with "I'll apologize when hell freezes over. They can fuck off". Eventually, however, Gibson joined GLAAD in hosting 10 lesbian and gay filmmakers for an on-location seminar on the set of the movie Conspiracy Theory in January 1997. In 1999 when asked about the comments to El País, Gibson said, "I shouldn't have said it, but I was tickling a bit of vodka during that interview, and the quote came back to bite me on the ass."

Gibson has been criticized for homophobia over his films Braveheart and The Passion of the Christ.

Häggkvist, Carola

Carola Häggkvist is the winner of the 1991 Eurovision Song Contest. She participated in the Eurovision Song Contest three times altogether.

In an interview in 2002 for the Swedish gay magazine QX, she alienated many gay and some heterosexual fans by alleging that she knows homosexual persons who have become heterosexual through prayers. She also said that homosexuality would always remain "unnatural" to her.

Four years later, her comment caught up with her when she participated in the Swedish national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest in March 2006. During a press conference a journalist tried to ask her if she still had the same opinion. According to the Swedish newspaper Expressen, Carola didn't answer the question because her advisors told her to keep quiet because answering questions about her stance on homosexuality could cost her the trip to Athens and could also cause a lot of embarrassment and negative media attention.

Rickard Engfors, who is gay and Carola's co-operating partner during the Melodifestivalen and Eurovision Song Contest 2006, said the following in the Swedish newspaper Expressen on March 15, 2006:

“

"Carola doesn't hate gays. If she did, I wouldn't work for her. She is a fantastic person."

”

During an exclusive interview for one of the Eurovision-related websites before the 2006 contest, Carola was also questioned about this, and stated that she "would love for every gay person to feel that she loves them" and that she does not think that "being gay is a sickness". She went on to criticize the tabloids for misinterpreting her original words and making an issue out of it. Later in the interview, she also commented on one of her supporting dancers being gay and his boyfriend being "great".

Rybak, Alexander

Alexander Rybak is the winner of the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest.

The British internet site LowCulture reported in May 2009 that Rybak refused to have his picture taken with gay fans. The article was updated four days later, saying that in the meantime he had posed for pictures with gay fans, so Rybak may have been unaware of this incident.

Summer, Donna

Donna Summer is probably one of the most discussed celebrity for allegedly having made anti-gay comments regarding the AIDS epidemic as being a punishment from God for homosexuality. The fallout from the alleged quote had a hugely negative impact on Summer's career, which saw thousands of her records being returned to her record company by angered fans. However, Summer denied making any such remarks and many years later she filed a lawsuit against "New York" magazine when it reprinted the rumors "as fact", coincidently, right as Summer was about to release her latest album "Mistaken Identity" in 1991. . According to an A&E Biography program in which Summer participated in 1995, the lawsuit was settled out of court with neither side discussing details of the setllement.

The website Donna Tribute features an article by Gay Times (from November 1999) explaining how this rumour started after all. The incident obviously occured after a concert in 1983 when one of her fans who suffered from AIDS asked Summer whether she would pray for him. Eyewitnesses confirmed that Summer did not make this statement but that she may have been a bit "naive" and stated that AIDS was "because of the reckless lifestyle."

Washington, Isaiah

Isaiah Washington is best known for his role as Dr. Preston Burke on the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy.

In the show's third season, Washington became a central figure in widely-reported backstage controversy. In October 2006, news reports surfaced that Washington had grabbed co-star Patrick Dempsey by the throat after Dempsey began screaming unprovoked into Washington's face. It was reported that the altercation was prompted by or related to Washington's use of a derogatory epithet toward co-star T. R. Knight and his sexuality. Shortly after the details of the argument became public, Knight publicly disclosed that he was gay.

The controversy later resurfaced when the cast appeared at the Golden Globes in January 2007. While being interviewed on the red carpet prior to the awards, Washington joked, "I love gay. I wanted to be gay. Please let me be gay." After the show won Best Drama, Washington, in response to press queries as to any conflicts backstage, said that he had never referred to Knight as a "faggot." However, in an interview with Ellen DeGeneres on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Knight said that Washington had, in fact, used that particular epithet.

After being rebuked by his studio, Touchstone Television (now ABC Studios), Washington issued a statement apologizing at length for using the epithet in an argument with Patrick Dempsey. On January 30, 2007, a source told People magazine that Washington was scheduled to return to the Grey's Anatomy set as early on that Thursday for the first time since entering "executive counseling" after making the comments at the Golden Globes.

However, on June 7, 2007, ABC announced they had decided not to renew Washington's contract, and that he would be dropped from the show. "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore," Washington said in a statement released by his publicist, borrowing the famous Howard Beale line from Network. In another report, Washington stated he was planning to "spend the summer pursuing charity work in Sierra Leone, work on an independent film and avoid worrying about the show." In a subsequent interview, Washington claimed that "they fired the wrong guy" (referring to T.R. Knight) and said he was considering filing a lawsuit as a result. He accused Knight of using the controversy to bolster his own career and increase his salary on Grey's Anatomy.

Washington, in late June 2007, began asserting that racism within the media was a factor in his firing from the series. On July 2, 2007, Washington appeared on Larry King Live on CNN, to present his side of the controversy. According to Washington, he never used the "F Word" in reference to T.R. Knight, but rather blurted it out in an unrelated context in the course of an argument "provoked" by castmate Patrick Dempsey, who, he felt, was treating him like a "B-word," a "P-word," and the "F-word," which Washington said conveyed "somebody who is being weak."