TQS Staff
Oscar-winning actor George Clooney has reacted to speculation about his sexuality in an interview with US LGBT magazine The Advocate. 50-year-old Clooney told the magazine that he does not care whether people think he is gay and he believes the speculation will continue even after he has died. He said of the rumours about his sexuality:
“I think it’s funny, but the last thing you’ll ever see me do is jump up and down saying ‘These are lies!’ That would be unfair and unkind to my good friends in the gay community.”
Clooney joined Brad Pitt and a star-studded cast on Saturday night for the premiere of 8 – a play about Proposition 8 and the same-sex marriage ban in California. The star of The Descendants is one of many celebrities involved in the campaign to legalise same-sex marriage in the USA. He is said to be currently dating actress and ex-professional wrestler Stacy Keibler. He added:
“I’m not going to let anyone make it seem like being gay is a bad thing. My private life is private, and I’m very happy in it. Who does it hurt if someone thinks I’m gay? I’ll be long dead and there will still be people who say I was gay. I don’t give a s**t.”
Are we really still badgering Clooney about his sexuality? Yawn. Ok, so it would be great to have an actor come out as gay who is mainstream, massively influential, not pigeonholed into camp roles, and not forced to come out because of media scandal. However, he is clearly not going to reveal his private life any time soon – and why should he? As he rightly argues, it shouldn’t matter whether he is gay or straight. Unfortunately, the reality is that if he does ‘come out of the closet’ he is likely to see a change in the kind of roles he is offered- it’s a continued bigotry of the industry, but that’s not Clooney’s fault. Yes, a wealth of inspiring LGBT figureheads is needed in the public eye but it has to be the choice of the individual to publicly reveal their sexual orientation and aspects of their private lives. Media pressure should play no part. I like to believe he’s gay for my *ahem* personal reasons – and that’s all I ever need.
Jamie Fisher
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