Pictured Gay U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz. Photo by Rex Wockner..Charlize Theron in the film Aeon Flux—she and her boyfriend won't marry until gays and lesbians can. She won an Oscar for portraying lesbian Aileen Wuornos in Monster.
'Whatever Robbie's intention, his legal action has created the impression he thinks it is shameful to be gay. If he sees nothing wrong with being gay, why did he sue for libel? Robbie comes across as two-faced. In the past he has made statements suggesting he might be gay. Now he has the temerity to sue a newspaper for making similar suggestions. He has previously teased his gay fans with comments appearing to confirm that he has had gay relationships. In the light of his legal action, were these teasing remarks were a cynical attempt to exploit the gay market? Robbie may claim he did not sue over allegations of homosexuality; only over allegations he lied about this sexuality. But the court case contested allegations of gayness, as well as issues of deception. Regardless of Robbie's professed aim, many people will see his libel action as having a whiff of homophobia.' — Peter Tatchell of the OutRage! LGBT group in England. Pop star Robbie Williams won £200,000 in damages after he sued The People newspaper and the Northern & Shell magazines, Star and Hot Stars, over gay allegations.
'Robbie wanted to prove he is straight. Instead, he has alienated many loyal gay fans and liberal-minded heterosexuals. He seems to be saying that he regards the allegation of homosexuality as a stain on his reputation—a blot that requires legal action to refute. This smacks of collusion with homophobia. We don't know whether Robbie is gay or straight. It is irrelevant. Our concern is that he feels libel action is appropriate to counter suggestions that he might be covering up homosexuality. If Robbie wants to make amends, and reassure his gay fans, he should donate his libel winnings to a hard-pressed gay charity like Lesbian and Gay Switchboard.' — Peter Tatchell.
'I'm not very romantic about it, to be honest. I think Kenny probably would be if I let him, but it's just not me. ... We want to do it just in case. You never know, I could get hit by a bus and the poor man could have nothing.' — Singer George Michael announcing Nov. 29 that he and longtime partner Kenny Goss will get hitched under the United Kingdom's new Civil Partnership Act, which grants all rights and obligations of matrimony.
'We came up with a new idea that we said that we would get married the day that gays and lesbians can get married—when that right is given to them. We've decided that we're gonna use that in a positive way, so the day that law gets passed, then we'll get married.' — Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron to the TV show Extra, Nov. 23. Theron is dating actor Stuart Townsend.
'I make this decision not out of despair or discouragement or even uncertainty about my political prospects for election. I have both the energy and the enthusiasm for the job I do, and I am confident that I would win re-election if I chose to run.' — Gay U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., announcing Nov. 23 he will not seek re-election. Kolbe is the only openly gay Republican in Congress.
'You know, it's flattering when there's a rumor that says I'm bisexual. It means I can play more kinds of roles. I'm open to whatever people want to call me. I've never really been attracted to men sexually, but I don't think I would be afraid of it if it happened.' — Brokeback Mountain star Jake Gyllenhaal to Premiere magazine, December issue.
'The exclusion of same-sex couples from the benefits and responsibilities of marriage was not a small and tangential inconvenience resulting from a few surviving relics of societal prejudice destined to evaporate like the morning dew. It represented a harsh if oblique statement by the law that same-sex couples are outsiders, and that their need for affirmation and protection of their intimate relations as human beings is somehow less than that of heterosexual couples. It signifies that their capacity for love, commitment and accepting responsibility is by definition less worthy of regard than that of heterosexual couples. The intangible damage to same-sex couples is as severe as the material deprivation. They are not entitled to celebrate their commitment to each other in a joyous public event recognised by the law. They are obliged to live in a state of legal blankness in which their unions remain unmarked by the showering of presents and the commemoration of anniversaries so celebrated in our culture.' — From the South African Constitutional Court's 'media summary' of its Dec. 1 ruling legalizing same-sex marriage. The court gave Parliament one year to make the necessary changes in law.
'When my partner, Alison Maddex ( a true blue Madonna fan ) , bought [ Madonna's new ] CD a few days after its release on Nov. 15, I was shocked at how the reviews had failed to note its tinny shrillness, sonic clichés, and intermittently clumsy or muddy layering—a startling lapse in Madonna's usually impeccable quality control. Even worse, the stitching together of one track into the next—a basic disco convention that some reviews carelessly allowed readers to think was Madonna's innovation—is in every case but one embarrassingly weak, wavering and amateurish.' — Writer Camille Paglia reviewing Madonna's new Confessions on a Dance Floor CD at Salon.com, Dec. 2.
