The US commentator and so called writer, Ramin Setoodeh has reignited a row over gay actors in Hollywood after claiming that studios shut out stars who make their sexuality public.
Newsweek writer Ramin Setoodeh was widely vilified in April when he wrote a piece claiming that openly gay TV star Sean Hayes, best known for his role as the flamboyant Jack in Will and Grace, did not make a convincing straight character in the Broadway play Promises, Promises. And then angering more and more people in the process when he implied that no gay can play straight. Now, he’s back, jumping on the bandwagon, though changing tact a little by saying in a new article, that gay men are not even able to play gay roles because Hollywood prefers to hand them to straight actors.
"The lovable lesbian wives in The Kids Are All Right were played by the heterosexual actresses Annette Bening and Julianne Moore," writes Setoodeh. "The quirky couple in I Love You Phillip Morris were portrayed by straight men Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor. "You could say that's why it's called 'acting'. But that's little comfort to gay actors, who are routinely shut out of the studio system, even though Hollywood is supposedly one of the most 'gay-friendly' towns. Movies need to attract the broadest possible audience, and film-makers worry that if they cast a gay person as a romantic lead, audiences will be too grossed out. Instead, straight actors get the roles, and everybody talks about how brave they are."
This wilt from Setoodeh comes on the back of comments of Rupert Everett who implied the homophobia of Hollywood still exists in a recent radio interview. Also legendary actor Richard Chamberlin advises gay actors to stay in the closet to secure more work.
However, it would seem that it’s quite ok to be young and gay in Hollywood these days, just look at the emergence of gay actors and characters in the teen drama sector, "Glee," "Gossip Girl," "Pretty Little Liars," "Hellcats," "Greek" the US version of "Skins" all do well in showcasing young, gay roles. The new US version of UK comic drama “Shameless” has a vivid and powerful gay storyline and character.
“Perhaps when we stop turning in on ourselves, we can expect the same from the rest of society” said Andrew a TV commentator from England, highlighting that often the most homophobic people in the showbiz world are gay themselves. “They cave out a niche for themselves, yet fight dirty and ferociously to any other gay star on the rise, as if they will keep them in work!”JS
guardian.co.uk
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