Okay, not really. But in case you missed it last week, acclaimed gay British actor Rupert Everett made rather shocking comments about gay parenting during an interview with Britain’s Sunday Times Magazine. He said that although his mother has met his boyfriend, she still wishes he had a wife and kids:
“She thinks children need a father and a mother and I agree with her. I can’t think of anything worse than being brought up by two gay dads.”
“Some people might not agree with that. Fine! That’s just my opinion,” he said, adding that he doesn’t consider himself part of the “gay community.”
Naturally, LGBT rights advocates and equality supporters on both sides of the pond were appalled. GLAAD President Herndon Graddick responded:
“Since Everett shared his outdated opinion, gay parents, as well as their friends and families, have voiced overwhelming disappointment. Children aren’t hurt when raised by caring gay parents, but they are when uniformed people in the public eye insult their families.”
Unfortunately, instead of retracting and apologizing for his staggeringly insensitive (and factually inaccurate) comments, Everett defended himself and attempted to deflect the criticism yesterday while speaking to the U.K. talk show This Morning. The actor even joked that it’s a good thing he isn’t running for Parliament:
‘Listen, the good news on this is I’m not applying for any sort of public office.
‘I don’t want to be a [Member of Parliament], I don’t want to be in the council, I’m just an individual with my own life and the things that I want to do myself.
‘I’m not against anybody doing anything. I think the reason that’s great about living in England, is we can do more or less what we want.
‘Just I, personally, feel like that. But it doesn’t mean to say,…I have lots of gay friends with children, I have lots of gay friends who have got married, I’ve been to lots of gay weddings, but I’m not big into marriage straight or gay to be honest.
‘I’m very out of kilter with the rest of the world, I realize, but you know, I’m just an individual, I’m not trying to sell anything and I don’t want to upset anyone and I’m not trying to have an official opinion about anything.’
Ugh. Ever since my husband Michael introduced me to the filmography of Rupert Everett, he’s been one of my favorite actors. But sadly, in light of his appalling remarks about gay parents, I’m divorcing him removing him from my pantheon of favorite actors. Michael is, too. In fact, I’ll close by sharing his parting words to Everett, because they perfectly sum up my disgust with this actor whom I’d previously admired:
Rupert Everett — you just stopped being one of my favorite actors. I admit that I’m an essentialist – I gain greater pleasure from art when I have some deeper understanding of its origin or originator. That applies to all arts, including acting: I can’t help enjoying an actor’s performance more when I know something about the actor. I’m sure that makes me a rube, plebeian, and philistine, but I’m not exactly a member of the Academy and have yet to review a Broadway show for the New York Times. When I learn that an actor holds offensive or stupid or objectionable ideas, I can’t help but lose interest in his performance. But don’t feel too bad, Rupert; you’re in good company with Jon Voight and Chuck Norris.
Well said. Sayonara, Rupert.
