“What was strange was that when people did find out that I was gay, there was a lot of articles and stuff written saying that I was hiding it, and I wasn’t. I just wanted to get online and I wanted to pick up the phone and say, ‘Do you realize I left home at 16 because I was gay?’ I went into the world as a kid, because I had to. I am proud and happy, and I’ve lived a very big life that I’m super happy with. And I’ve never been ashamed. And now all of a sudden I was being treated in this way and it was a scary moment because I was, like, oh God, this is horrible. This is not true. None of this is true.”–Actor Luke Evans, striking back against critics who have accused him of hiding his sexuality. In an interview with Attitude, Evans opens up about leaving home as a teenager, and the reasons for keeping his personal life private.
Cam
Literally the title of the interview mentions that he kept his private life “Private”. So it would appear he was hiding it. It’s the same as when people like Anderson Cooper claimed he’d never hidden it before he came out.
Glad he’s out now, but actors should stop with this “I’ve never hidden it” B.S. Just admit that you hid it because Hollywood is a bigoted place and he thought it would damage his career. I would respect that answer a lot more.
CityguyUSA
Agreed!
DonnyBurchett
🙂
G R
Seriously. These fools all play a game of semantics and act like the internet has no record of the things they said before.
Donston
He did put a lot of that on himself. When he first started doing interviews he hyped up his “gayness”. He talked about wanting to show that “gays” can be “masc” and can be convincing as “straight” (which is its own set of issues. Everybody always trying to prove something to the population).
I don’t know he if experienced some fluidity, questioning or contradictions. I don’t know if someone told him to calm down on the “gay pride” stuff and to not be unabashedly into dudes on a public level for the sake of his career. But he definitely started to present himself more ambiguously started talking about being “private”. He started talking about how it’s not anyone’s business. While he seemed fine with folks thinking he was was in a relationship with his female agent.
Ultimately, it isn’t anyone’s business. These performers don’t owe the public anything. But don’t act like a lot of what happened was by accident. People aren’t stupid.
jjose712
Sorry but he is lying. From the moment he tried to make a career in Hollywood till he started to date Jon Kortajarena, he didn’t only hide the fact he was gay but he even make some embarrassing comments trying to pass as straight.
Some british actors seem to think that once you are out of the island everything (gay) you said there stays there, because he is not the only one who crawled back into the closet once he got roles in America.
I know it was his agent who did the heavy work in his straight washing but she did it because he left her do it.
I really don’t understand why some actors feel the need to go with the “i was always out of the closet” when everybody knows it’s not true.
Donston
Everyone knows he spent several years trying to de-gay his image when he went to Hollywood and that he committed to the “it’s my private life” stance after being unabashedly out at the beginning of his acting career. What he’s saying now is actually insulting.
Everybody has their own journey. Everyone has their own experiences when it comes to gender, sexuality, the orientation spectrum, relationships. And everyone has their own motivations and priorities. I ultimately don’t care. But don’t so obviously try to BS people and present it as all their imagination. It just makes you unlikable.
drmiller
His private life IS his private life. This is all ridiculous hearsay nonsense. All of this chatter about his past and present just furthers the discussion that someone’s sex life is a discussion AT ALL. It’s no one’s damn business. And all you self righteous old queens need to get over it. Stop talking about other people’s sex lives, period. If it’s legal and not hurting anyone, none of us have any right to know. I don’t care if they drop hints or lie or are seen in public holding hands with someone. THEIR BUSINESS. This chatter is dumb and unhelpful.
Love321
your comment is doing nothing but trying to keep people in the closet. Is it ever told to STRAIGHT actors to keep their private life private? Straight people broadcast their wedding, children with their partners, dating lives, sing abou their love lives, and all that’s fine, but people say that gays should stay private
Josh447
Here-here. Well said. Letting people run their own lives is a low priority for many on this site.
It can be said, one man’s “nuance” is another man’s nausea.
Donston
Love321, there are actually plenty of “straight” people who don’t put their business on blast. And most actors in general don’t like to talk too much about their private lives unless they’re married with kids. And even then, many don’t like to get too much into it. So, what you’re saying is just not true.
Josh447
drmiller,
Here-here. Well said. Letting people run their own lives is a low priority for many on this site.
It can be said, one man’s “nuance” is another man’s nausea.
Donston
Josh, stop being a pathetic troll. If you don’t have anything to contribute to the convo then stfu. You really don’t seem to post anything that’s not designed to annoy/troll me. And honestly, it’s not effective. I find it more corny than annoying.
Love321
Donston, maybe I should’ve been more specific for you. There are no leading actors in the United States, who we don’t know are openly STRAIGHT, and just incase you still don’t understand, i.e. we know George Clooney, Leo Dicaprio, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Tom Hanks, and Tom Cruise are straight, but once a gay person admits their sexuality, ignorant, and bigoted people encourage them to keep it secret for the sake of “privacy” do I make myself more clear now?
Jake123
@ Love32- Tom Cruise!! Straight!! Good one!!
Cam
Translation: Every other straight actor can talk about their kids, their wedding, their dating, appear on the red carpet, talk about their first date, talk about how their proposal went….
But when it’s an LGBTQ actor, it’s all private and nobody’s business.
You literally just defended the closet.
SoggyDuck
I agree that it is no one’s business His sexuality has NOTHING to do with his acting ability…neither adding nor subtracting. It is what it is and nothing more. You may judge him for whatever talents he displays, but certainly not by using his sexual orientation as a mirror.
Love321
we all know straight people’s sexuality, but when it comes to gay guys, “it’s their business” you’re just finding new ways to keep people in the closet.
drmiller
Love, just no. It’s not about keeping anyone in the closet. It’s about allowing people to make their own choices and live their own lives however they want. Straight people don’t have to hide anything because they’re fking privileged and we live in a massively heteronormative society. Like hello? Do you need to hand in your gay card? This is pretty standard rhetoric here. Your comment is a straw-man and I think you know that.
Love321
drmiller And, Luke CHOSE to come out, and announce he’s gay, but people like you have an issue with that, providing him the choice to stay in the closet. Your issue is you want people to keep gayness private, and for them to stay on the down-low with their homosexuality. You either have self-hatred, or you’re just another anti-gay bigot.
dhmonarch89
he may not have been ashamed- but he and his management DID try to hide it- which was ridiculous because he did an Advocate interview back in the early 2000s owning it- then he got more famous/up for bigger parts he likely would have lost being out and was suddenly he was on the red carpet with women and his management was saying ‘we don’t discuss our client’s sexuality’ or refusing to comment all together. He played along, as did the press and in the early 2010s- the is he/isn’t BS game was played.
dhmonarch89
Straight actors don’t get the luxury of having a private life- theirs gets dissected routinely… so why should gay guys get a pass? It matters when casting str8 actors- if they’re tabloid fodder, in a scandal or what rumors are circulating. Let’s not be naive and think image isn’t everything in Hollywood.
Love321
Celebrities coming out as gay is inspiring, and amazing especially to younger people who get to know that an openly gay person can be a Hollywood leading actor.
Donston
And of course people are altering what the conversation is actually about. No one has to come out. No one should be shamed for not coming out. None of these entertaining owe us anything. And you don’t have a right to know strangers’ identities, sexual journeys, lifestyles, where they fit in the gender, sexual, romantic, emotional, commitment spectrum.
Having said all this, the conversation is whether or not he tried to creep back in the closet and tried to be less aggressively “out” after he started becoming famous and started getting bigger roles. He very obviously did. I don’t care about anyone’s identities, dimensions, love life or sex life. It ain’t my business. And I’m not judging him for what he did. But what he did was so obvious that these contradicting comments just make him look silly and are a bit insulting. He’s better off not talking about it anymore.
drmiller
Generally agree, but I think the larger issue at hand here is the weird obsession we as a society have with knowing the gender someone has sex with. We need to stop focusing on it so much so these types of articles stop existing and this boring dialogue can desist.
Love321
you also contradicted yourself saying, “I don’t care about anyone’s identities, dimensions, love life or sex life. It ain’t my business.” when you’re on a queerty website that dedicates itself talking about queer identity, and you clicked a link referring to Luke Evans’ sexuality. If you didn’t care, you wouldn’t even be on this message board, and you especially wouldn’t be reading stories and commenting on other strangers sexual identity. You’re no different from someone FREELY walking into a restaurant, looking at the menu, and then talking to customers in the business telling them you don’t care about the restaurant that you all are in. It’s stupid, and extremely contradictory.
stagehand1
Listen to you people! Even if his fear of coming out were fractionally true, it’s his own community that has lambasts him. You don’t know him, I don’t know him. How can you be so judgemental? Who are you? Nasty, small minded Assholes!
Donston
We really need to get out of this mentality that “queers” owe “queers” anything. No one has to do anything for anyone. And no one is entitled to know a stranger’s business. If you think you are entitled you’re an a-hole.
Luke did go from “out and proud” to wanting to be less overtly “gay”, wanting to be more “private” and more ambiguous. And he was cool with the press presenting him as pretty much “straight” for a couple years. He only somewhat creeped back out of the closet after people started mentioning his old interviews.
I don’t think this makes him a bad person. Whether he did it for his career or his ego or did it because he was experiencing some fluidity or confusions or contradictions, that is also not our business. But he is asking people to pretend what happened did not happen. He doesn’t owe anyone anything. So, he’s better off not trying to defend himself. Instead, he’s promoting a false narrative, which is just not a good look.
Love321
Donston you have alot of personal issues. I can tell. Your boyfriend probably dumped you because you were in the closet, and you were extremely hurt by that, and you’re taking it out on random strangers. Of course we all know Luke doesn’t owe us anything, but he didn’t owe Hollywood agents anything either, but he chose to follow his agents wishes to not talk about being gay, and be more masculine. That’s his choice, but you’re also ignoring the MANY LGBTQ people who could’ve probably benefitted, even if it’s through inspiration, that an openly gay person is a Hollywood leading man. You ignore that, and place more emphases on preserving a closeted gay man’s “privacy” and an individual’s ego
Donston
I’m out as hell. And I’m married to someone of my sex. So, that’s a swing and a miss on that diagnosis. There are some problematic aspects to Evans’ comments, mainly him trying to get everyone to indulge revisionist history. But yes, “coming out” should always be more of a personal thing than a socio-political one. While “it could have been helpful to some lgbtq people if you were out earlier” is a tired excuse for shaming people because they weren’t “out” when you want them to be. Folks really need to stop saying that. It makes them look like judgements idiots.
You’re either incredibly young and self-righteous. Or you still don’t have an understanding of a lot of shit out here. It’s not about protecting the closet. It’s about protecting people’s right to privacy. It’s about accepting that people don’t have an obligation to come out, ever. It’s about accepting that everyone has their own circumstances, motivations, struggles, journeys. It’s about accepting everybody has their own thing going on when it comes to gender, sexuality, romantic passions, emotional investment, commitment ambitions.
Shaming people for not going about things exactly the way you would want is never gonna make you look like the better person.
Love321
Donston, your issue is you’re an extreme control freak, and have strong control issues. If people want to talk on an internet page and question whether closeted gay should come out, that’s also their choice, if people want to talk about how being openly gay not only helps that individual, but helps society at large, that’s ALSO their choice, but you shame and criticize both instances because people don’t do what you want, hypocrite. Just like if a closeted person wants to stay in that closet, of course that’s their choice. I’m sure you agree with being in the closet more, because you’re probably a repressive, closeted, LYING troll trying to shame other LGBTQ allies and community members of celebrities rights to stay in the closet. You’re absolutely no different from the bullies out there who would bully a gay kid to stay IN the closet. You have severe control issues, and I strongly recommend you seek professional help Donston. And by the way, when did saying publicly that you’re gay become something that should be private? Obviously you’re so ignorant, you don’t even know the purporse of coming out, and why it does in fact, involve the public. Only if you’re a closet case, or someone who wishes to repress gay people from being open and visible. You have so many issues with yourself and others, it’s becoming increasingly problematic. And I know you’re a defendant of people staying in the closet. People don’t have to come out, but people don’t have to stay in the closet either, and being closeted, for a majority of people is incredibly demoralizing, marginalizing, and can decrease one’s self-esteem. You either don’t care, or that is what you want, because as I said before, you probably have mental issues. And just like the hypocrite you are, you criticize shaming people for not going about things they way they want, but you’re doing the same thing by shaming others if they wish others to come out of the closet. You’re the biggest hypocrite in this comment section.
HollandChrlstopher
So we’re all supposed to forget the “Luke’s lovely”/beard saga? The wikipedia flame war over his sexuality? It’s odd that in the same article that he denies ever being an attempted closet case, he employs the classic closet case line of his sexuality being a “private” matter. Which if this were true, then ones eye colour and shoe size would also be a “private matter”. There would be nothing shameful if he spoke candidly and admitted to that chapter in his life, on the contrary, it could have been thought provoking and even inspirational. Instead both he and, ironically, Attitude magazine itself, have decided to engage in what is easily verified as revisionist history.
drmiller
Yes we are supposed to forget it because it’s boring and stupid. Stop talking about people’s sex lives. It’s weird and gross. Just stop.
Donston
“Drmiller”, simply telling people just to be quiet isn’t going to work. Yes, people focus way too much on other people’s personal lives. But folks are always gonna gossip and speculate. That ain’t going away.
Also, don’t whittle sexuality or orientation down to who someone has sex with. That’s condescending as hell. Anyone who thinks sexuality or orientation is merely who someone has sex with does not understand sexuality or orientation or the extent of internal/external struggles that can tied to both.
Finally, until this comment in Attitude I had no problem with Luke Evans. And for the most part “gays” have embraced Evans. Hardly anyone holds anything against him. Folks had already forgotten. Luke is the one bringing this up and actively trying to gaslight people and revise history. He’s the one talking about his “sexuality” to the public. So, if you don’t have no heat for him then you need not to come at anyone else.
Do you have anything to contribute to the conversation/story beyond “we need to stop talking about other people’s sexuality”? Because that’s barely even connected to the majority of comments.
Cam
@drmiller
So let’s see, he gives an interview about his sexuality, to a magazine that publishes based on sexuality, but you’re here screaming that nobody should mention his sexuality.
You defenders of the closet are very confused, aren’t you?
alexpof
why people is so obsessed with other’s sexuality, if he tried to hide its ok we all did it at some point, public figures should stop explaining everything they dont owe any explanation to anyone,
Love321
this is a queerty website dedicated to talking about people’s sexuality and identity. You questioning why people are obsessed with talking about other’s sexuality on a queer website, is like you going on a NBA message forum questioning why people are talking about sports.
SkylarkDavid
Can everyone step back and lighten up a bit? How is it that our community has become so harsh with each other? I remember when the biggest challenge we faced was the fear of rejection by family, friends and society at large. Now, it seems that sometimes the harshest rejections, criticisms and judgments about being gay come from others who are gay. For me, being gay allowed me the freedom to be any kind of man I wanted to be. It seems to me that Luke is doing just fine living on his own terms. Let’s be more kind, accepting and respectful of each other. If we can’t do that for our own community, how can we expect it from others?