Two major A-list stars in the past week have had to discuss some pesky gay rumors about them that have either gone on for years or just started recently. Actor Hugh Jackman is one, Shawn Mendes is the other.
They join a list of several other men in the entertainment industry who have had to awkwardly discuss this matter to a variety of publications (Andrew Garfield, anyone?), but the question I ask in this situation is why do they have to do this in the first place?
Let’s say one of them is in fact gay (not alluding to anything here) and isn’t ready to come out yet. Does pressuring them on and off social media to talk about this really help them out in the long run? Sure, many of them laugh these rumors off, but in a very odd way this is a unique example of potentially outing a person who wants to remain in the closet.
I’ve written in the past about several men in the industry who are rumored to be anything from gay to bi to fluid but don’t want the matter discussed. When some of them are badgered or pestered into talking about this, who does it help? Our selfish mindset which hopes that one of them will be on our team and therefor we have a chance with them? Get real.
It’s very hard to be a gay or bi man period, due to the judgment we still face daily no matter how far our world has progressed with our acceptance. This type of behavior, where men have to vigorously deny their sexuality or keep it hidden, isn’t helping us in our progression. It’s exacerbating some type of fantasy we have about a star we desire, which we forget are still regular people like you and me at the end of the day.
This may sound like a rant, but it might be a good idea for interviewers and social media users to stop with these types of questions as it really does no good. This goes for any type of person, no matter what your sexuality is. If they feel comfortable discussing who they are, then so be it. But the redundancy of this sort of matter really is appalling and has no real end game in something that shouldn’t be asked in the first place.
This post was created by one of our Contributing Writers and does not reflect the opinion of Instinct Magazine or the other Contributing Writers when it comes to this subject.
I was 49 when a family member
I was 49 when a family member outed me. It destroyed my life and those close to me. The destruction would have been far less were I able to come out on my own terms. No one has the right to do this to anyone gay or not!