SAN DIEGO—California gubernatorial candidate and movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger was the target of a campaign by the early '90s activist group Queer Nation which accused him of homophobia.
Speaking at a George Bush campaign rally at Pinkerton military academy in Derry, N.H., on Feb. 15, 1992, Schwarzenegger said:
'We don't talk about those Democrats. I watched that debate and they all looked like a bunch of girlie men.'
Queer Nation denounced Schwarzenegger as a 'bigot' and a 'blatant homophobe,' and charged his attitude underscored 'the anti-gay agenda of the Bush/Quayle campaign.'
'Once again, Bush's henchmen divide the nation by promoting hatred of a minority— the queer community,' Queer Nation spokesman Tim McCarthy said at the time.
'It sickens me to see the president of the United States endorse homophobia and advocate anti-gay violence,' added the group's Stephen Smith.
There is no evidence Queer Nation took any action against Schwarzenegger other than issuing a press release.
In 1996, Schwarzenegger cracked a joke about fitness guru Richard Simmons while speaking to the Chicago Sun-Times. He was asked, 'As a die-hard Republican, would you ever campaign for relative Ted Kennedy?'
He responded: 'I never campaign for a Democrat. He's family, so I would never go against him, but I would never campaign for him. The day you see me campaign for Ted will be the day there will be little Richard Simmons Juniors running around.'
Schwarzenegger is married to Kennedy's niece, TV journalist Maria Shriver.
In a 1999 interview with Talk magazine, Schwarzenegger made a statement that was construed as pro-gay.
'I think about it [running for governor of California] many times,' he said. 'The possibility is there, because I feel it inside. I feel there are a lot of people in politics that are standing still and not doing enough. ... You're going to lose until you become a party of inclusion, [until you show] that you love the foreigner that comes in with no money as much as a gay person, as a lesbian ... someone who's from the inner city.'
In addition, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Aug. 10 that Schwarzenegger once told Cosmopolitian magazine gay sex is legitimate.
'I have no sexual standards in my head that say this is good or this is bad,' he reportedly said. 'Homosexual—that only means to me that he enjoys sex with a man and I enjoy sex with a woman. It's all legitimate to me.'
The newspaper also quoted Schwarzenegger saying, 'When it comes to sex, I don't give a [expletive deleted] what anyone's trip is.'
No source was cited for that remark.
Thirteen years ago, on Sept. 21, 1990, Schwarzenegger was 'outed' by the then-wildly popular Fox network TV program In Living Color.
It occurred during the 'Men On...' segment of the variety-style comedy show in which actors Damon Wayans and David Alan Grier portrayed gay arts reviewers Blaine Edwards and Antoine Merriweather. The characters appeared on fictional cable-access channel 62 and reviewed a different artistic medium each week.
'Tonight we'll be wrapping up the summer films,' said Blaine. 'First up is the box-office smash Total Recall. Yes, this is the movie where muscle-bound Arnold Schwarzenegger goes in search of his past. Just a hint, Arnold: Try lookin' in the closet.'
Asked about the incident the following day, In Living Color spokeswoman Julie Shannon said: 'It was just a joke—whatever you want to read into it. The writer who wrote it isn't here. It's not like we know something and anyone else doesn't. I don't know.'
A month later, the supermarket tabloid the Globe followed up by asking Schwarzenegger's spokesman, Joel Parker, if the action hero was gay.
Parker responded, 'Absurd!'
The special election to recall Gov. Gray Davis is Oct. 7. There will be at least 155 candidates, including well-known syndicated columnist Arianna Huffington and Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante.
If more than half of the voters recall Davis, the next governor will be the candidate who receives the most votes. Someone could win with only 10 percent or less of the total vote, depending on how dispersed the votes are among the numerous candidates.
The recall campaign was bankrolled by conservative Republican millionaire Congressman Darrell Issa, who also sought Davis' job but dropped out after Schwarzenegger's announcement. Issa represents the area surrounding the town of Vista in northern San Diego County.
