Andrew Scott recently opened up about the usage of “openly gay,” and he revealed the reason why it should no longer be used…
“I’m going to make a pitch for getting rid of the expression ‘openly gay’,” the 47-year-old Irish actor shared during a roundtable discussion for The Hollywood Reporter.
He explained,
“It’s an expression that we only ever hear in the media. You are never at a party and you say this is my openly gay [friend]. You never say it. Why do we put ‘openly’ in front of that adjective. You don’t say you’re openly Irish, you don’t say you’re openly left-handed.”
“There’s something in it that’s a little near ‘shamelessly’. You’re open about it? I’d nearly prefer shamelessly. If you’ve got to say it to understand it, just say ‘out’ possibly, or, you know what, just don’t say it at all. Now I think it’s just time to park it,” Scott further expressed.
@hollywoodreporter #andrewscott pitches why everyone should stop saying “openly gay” during the #thrroundtable for actors | watch the full #offscript episode on 1/7 at 9am et on sundance tv
♬ original sound – The Hollywood Reporter – The Hollywood Reporter
Meanwhile, fellow actors, including Robert Downey Jr. and Colman Domingo, who is also gay, seem to agree with the ‘All of Us Strangers’ star. Like a lot of queer actors, Scott was also “encouraged” to keep his sexuality hidden. He eventually decided against it though, finally coming out as gay in 2013.
Source: thepinknews.com
I guess maybe some journalists use it to clarify that they aren’t outing them? But referring to someone’s sexuality should only really be done when it’s relevant anyway. I hate reading how “openly gay” people have done something completely irrelevant to their sexuality
I understand his statement, but I don’t personally have an issue with using openly gay.