Barbra Streisand is a hypocrite. If she had made my play about AIDS, The Normal Heart, in 1976, when she first acquired the rights, only to sit on them for a full ten years without filming it, she could have done something for gay rights when we were really in the sewer of death. But no, she chose to go off and make such vitally important and classic movies as Nuts and The Mirror Has Two Faces. Barbra Streisand cares about gay rights as much as I care about spending a zillion dollars decorating a colony of houses in Malibu. As the mother of a son who is not only gay but HIV positive, she should be ashamed of herself. Fortunately and at last, an exciting movie version is now being prepared by openly gay director-producer Ryan Murphy to star Mark Ruffalo. I hope it will prove that the best thing that happened for The Normal Heart is that Barbra Streisand didn’t make it. I think it is important for all her many gay fans around the world, which certainly had once included me, to know the above.
—Larry Kramer calling out Babs — who released the post-Prop 8 statement, “With this judge’s decision, we are closer to the day that all people will have access to the same fundamental rights. Hopefully, this remaining civil rights violation will soon be a part of our past and we can look to a future where all people will be treated equally under the law” — for being less than the a gay rights champion. He’s not bitter at all. [via]
EARLIER:
Can Barbra Streisand and Larry Kramer Be Friendly Enough to (Finally) Film Normal Heart?
missanthrope
Wait a minute. How in the hell did he make a play about AIDS in 1976 when the first cases were detected in the summer of 1981?
Maybe he meant 1986 but I think he’s finally lost it. It’s been a long time coming with him though.
Brandon H
Holy shit it must be homophobia, because Larry Kramer could NEVER write a bad play and most surely doesn’t have an ego the size of Texas.
RomanHans
Realizing something can’t — or shouldn’t — be filmed doesn’t make a person a hypocrite. Calling somebody names without basis, though, pretty much defines the word “asshole” in my book.
RomanHans
Oh, and Asshole neglects to mention “Prince of Tides” in 1994. Nominated for seven Oscars.
slobone
Well, nobody’s going to see it no matter who writes the screenplay.
Jon
Since Larry Kramer discovered AIDS in 1976, years before anyone else, he must be some kind of genius and as such should have figured out a way to produce the movie himself. BTW, Barbra’s Nuts was far superior to any crap that Kramer has ever done.
christopher di spirito
Streisand: great voice, lousy actress.
Kramer should count his blessing that Le Barbra didn’t make it into a film or her giant ego would’ve led to her rewriting his book into a “Streisand discovers, battles and cures AIDS without ever leaving her mansion on Zumirez Drive in Malibu.
jeffree
Kramer showed poor taste in airing this publically. Barbra, I hope will be wise &classy enough to stay mum on the topic.
BTW: Her movie YENTL was I believe one of the worst films ever made. We made up a drinking.game to accompany its viewing but I can’t remember the rules !
But that voice—wow.
Sexy Rexy
I don’t know how I feel about him outing her son as HIV+….that is cold. And it reeks of vindictiveness.
Jeffree
@SRexy #9: 100% cosign. I hadnt heard/didn’t know Babs’ son is (allegedly?) HIV+ because I don’t follow much celeb news, but if it’s not already been revealed publically, bringing that up is in incredibly bad taste.
Sexy Rexy
@Jeffree: Thanx, Jeffree. I loved “Faggots” by Kramer. It was a great, big, funny, sad and angry book. But in interviews and in other stories I have read about him, he’s all about getting his POV across at all costs. It’s almost as if he has some sort of scorched-earth policy with anyone he locks horns with.
vince
Barbra is a magnificent singer and great actress. Mr. Di Spirito, you sound as angry, mean-spirited, and miserable as Larry Kramer. You’re truly an idiot.
Queer Supremacist
Ryan “Glee” Murphy is doing the film? Uggh. I’d rather have Babs do it. And I gotta second Jeffree on Yentl. Awful, awful film. Supposedly Isaac Bashevis Singer published an epic takedown of that film when it was released. I like some of Streisand’s early work, but I think her ego really started to affect it adversely somewhere between The Way We Were and A Star is Born.
Shawn
I get that he might be upset that she didn’t do anything with his play and that his comments are probably self-serving, but if he’s right that Streisand’s son is HIV+, then it is really sad that she hasn’t done much publicly for others who are also HIV+. I mean, she’s one of the most famous celebrities on the planet, she could easily have brought a lot of attention and money to the issue.
ryang
It’s disgusting that Larry Kramer needs to publicly out someone’s HIV status, not to mention the son of a public person to serve his own agenda. Had he just spoken about his new “deal” with Ryan Murphy, no one would care. He knew that by mentioning such an outlandish statement about Barbra Streisand, it would make headlines.
Mr. Kramer knows damn well when he was living with Streisand at her Carolwood home in the 80s and became very ill, it was Ms. Streisand that provided him with the best medical care she was privileged enough to have. He’s also aware of how much she has given monetarily as well as conferences to gay rights and AmFar and many other gay organizations. To call her a hypocrite was pure evil nonsense, but then again, he was press-hungry and needed a fix and Ms. Streisand’s name provided that greedy need he has always possessed.
Mr. Kramer may have succeeded in getting the attention of the gay community, and trust me, it’s not the type of attention he was hoping for. He is a mean-spirited man and if he cares so much about the AIDS crisis and the gay community, he would have found a much more constructive way of proceeding with “The Normal Heart.”
For his sake, he’d better hope there is still have an audience for this film if it ever makes it to the screen. I have a feeling his new director, Ryan Murphy, as well as Mark Ruffalo, will have second thoughts about ever joining him after the way he has spoken about Ms. Streisand and her son’s private health matters.
If he really cares to make a difference, if it’s not too late, offer Ms. Streisand and her son the apology that they so deserve and move on.
Mr. Kramer, you have sunk to an all time low, even for you.
BTW – It’s not just Streisand fans that are outraged. Even if certain people don’t care for the woman, Jason did not choose his role as the son of two famous people. Make a public apology, Mr. Kramer. Or is an apology too much to ask from such a angry and bitter man such as yourself?
christopher di spirito
@vince: Sorry to burst your catheter but you sound like a silly, old queen.
A. Silly. Old. Queen.
No “magnificent” actress would’ve remade ‘A Star is Born,’ ‘The Mirror Had Two Faces,’ or, ‘For Pete’s Sake.’
As I said, great voice, lousy actress. Next?
Alex
Kramer’s comment is exactly what people have come to expect from so called “gay activists”.
Virtually the entire movement has morphed into his brand of hate, with self appointed leaders and major gay orgs running smear campaigns against each other and our supporters, and even against bias victims.
When are those of us who want real equality and a
real community going to stop putting up with their shit?
“They may have the right to say it, but we’re not required to enable them. It’s time to exclude them from all intelligent discourse.”
This statement from Ariana Huffington, was meant to refer to conservative right wingers. Sadly, it now applies to virtually the entire gay blogosphere, Kramer & many others.
Frida
La Cunt doesn’t give a shit about anyone but herself. And her compound. Oh and Prince of Tides (terrible film) is from 1991 RomanHans. Twit.
Mrs. Patrick Campbell
Miss Kramer is batshit crazy, and has always been nothing but a professional complainer and not someone who actually cares about LGBT people or our fight for equality.