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Here's why Andrew Scott wants to get rid of the term 'openly gay'
The All of Us Strangers star is making the case for why he's done with the term “openly gay.”
All of Us Strangers star Andrew Scott is done with the term “openly gay.”
During The Hollywood Reporter's recent Actor’s Roundtable, the beloved actor (who just graced the latest digital cover of OutOut) made his point about the term when talking to other actors including Robert Downey Jr., Paul Giamatti, Mark Ruffalo, and Colman Domingo.
“I’m going to make a pitch for getting rid of the expression ‘openly gay,’” Scott said, garnering an agreement from Colman Domingo, who is also an out, gay actor. “It’s an expression that we actually 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,” he continued. “Why do we put ‘openly’ in front of that adjective? You know, we don’t say you’re ‘openly Irish,’ we don’t say you’re ‘openly left handed’ or whatever the hell it is.”
“Because it’s two steps away from ‘shamelessly.’ There’s something in it that’s a little near [the word] shamelessly. ‘You’re open about it,’ you know what I’m saying?” he added. “I nearly prefer shamelessly gay!”
“And sometimes I just feel like if you gotta say it to understand it, just say, you know, ‘out’ possibly, or you know what? Sometimes, just don’t say anything at all.”
“No, just say, listen, this is just Colman,” Domingo added.
“I think there’s something about it that's just – you’re openly gay – now I just think it’s time to sort of park it.”
“Representation is a wonderful thing, but, you know, we’re talking an awful lot here about transformation, representation of transformation, and I wouldn’t be here if representation hadn’t improved. But I do think transformation is very important for actors.”
“I think there’s a danger of us all actually just being separated a little bit more because I think it’s a dangerous idea to put a clamp on transformation because that shouldn’t be the priority,” he concluded. “The priority should be clamping down on the prejudice within our industry and looking at who gets to transform, not the transformation itself.”
Watch the entire roundtable below.
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Mey Rude is a journalist and cultural critic who has been covering queer news for a decade. The transgender, Latina lesbian lives in Los Angeles with her fiancée.
Mey Rude is a journalist and cultural critic who has been covering queer news for a decade. The transgender, Latina lesbian lives in Los Angeles with her fiancée.
