It's gratifying to see the outpouring of statements from Broadway and Hollywood, as people have rushed to condemn the inflammatory opinion piece by Newsweek theater critic Ramin Setoodeh, who declared that gay actors can't ever play straight roles convincingly.
WWhen someone writes such bone-headed, manipulative, and insulting stuff in a major national publication, you have to wonder who this guy Setoodeh is boning at Newsweek, since his absurd anti-gay trumpery should never have made it into print.
The upside is that many concerned and thoughtful statements have appeared since the crazy Newsweek piece. Screenwriter Dustin Lance Black ( Milk ) , and GLAAD President Jarrett Barrios observed that "America is starting to embrace open gay and lesbian actors in heterosexual roles on stage and screen and Setoodeh himself is not yet ready to." But, they go on, "the stakes are so high" for gay Americans that there is "no excuse for his editors inflicting such hurtful—and baseless—musings on the readers of Newsweek."
Glee creator Ryan Murphy called for a boycott of Newsweek until the magazine apologizes to both the "brave out actors who were cruelly singled out in this damaging, needlessly cruel, and mind-blowingly bigoted piece," and "to all the gay readers of the publication." [ As of this writing, neither Newsweek nor Setoodeh has apologized. ]
Cynthia Nixon, who was mentioned by name in the Newsweek article, called it "horrible ... he's making fun of people in a really cruel way. I think it's really set us back 10 years." Cheyenne Jackson accused Setoodeh, who is himself gay, of "veiled self-loathing," adding that "every time we go forward, some asshole like this takes us back a bit." Kristin Chenoweth, Jane Lynch, Colin Firth, Michael Urie, and many others commented on the Newsweek piece in print, on television, and on the internet.
In Newsweek, Setoodeh had quoted Rupert Everett's advice that gay actors should not come out if they want to make it big in the film business. Setoodeh didn't mention that Everett also said "despite the difficulties," he's glad he did come out—glad that he's not one of the "plenty" of gay Hollywood stars still stuck in the closet. Everett said, "I think, all in all, I'm probably much happier than they are."
In a panel discussion on the Joy Behar Show, Amanda Bearse, who came out as a lesbian in 1993, agreed that Setoodeh's article is "a step backward." She said it had not been a problem for her to come out while she was a cast member on television's Married...with Children. "Every actor, gay or straight, starts from a place of truth within themselves. So it's really a ridiculous statement to say that gay actors can't play it straight." She said that an article like Setoodeh's "is going to keep more people in the closet, as opposed to encourage people to come out honestly as who they are."
In the succession of live interviews that followed his article, Setoodeh looked quite pleased with himself; after all, his attack on gay actors had landed him more media gigs than he could have ever scored had he written something smart, useful, and forward-thinking. On MSNBC, Setoodeh was asked what he'd like to see happen in the future. With a duplicitous wide-eyed, puppy-dog face, he answered: "I'd like to see more actors coming out." Perhaps he'd like to have more gay people to attack in future articles, and feels the need to replenish his targets.
Aaron Sorkin wrote a well-reasoned letter in the Huffington Post, saying, "I can only imagine that Setoodeh's piece felt like a solid kidney punch, not to just Mr. [ Sean ] Hayes and the other actors tagged in the story, but to teenagers—kids who live in daily fear of what their parents are going to say, of getting the hell beaten out of them at school, of being an oddity." Sorkin advised everyone to re-direct their anger away from Setoodeh and Newsweek and toward "the real problem. The honest-to-God, no kidding around, small-minded, mean-spirited, hysterically frightened, pig-ignorant bigots who don't think homosexuals are fit to get married, adopt children or fight and die for their country. The ones who hold signs saying 'God Hates Fags.' Those people aren't in the backwoods of Idaho, they're in Congress."
Sorkin's point is well taken: the Newsweek article is a tempest in a teapot compared to the larger prejudices gay people in all walks of life face here and abroad. But Setoodeh's views are also indicative of the complexity of those prejudices. And, frankly, I don't see why we can't do both. We can demand an apology from a mean-spirited, shoddy gay writer who is furthering his career by attacking gay celebrities, and at the same time we can continue to work for an end to the bigotry perpetuated all around us by mean-spirited straight homophobes. Anti-gay hatred is only made easier to maintain with the help of leeches like Setoodeh, while actors who have braved the risk of coming out have earned our admiration not only for their talent but for their honesty.
Jorjet Harper is the author of Lesbomania and Tales From the Dyke Side, and a senior editor and contributor to Out and Proud in Chicago.
