Alan Cumming took Jeremy Irons to task on Twitter Thursday, calling the Oscar-winner’s recent comments about gay marriage “offensive and ignorant.”
Earlier this week, Irons claimed that legalizing gay marriage would somehow debase marriage and ultimately lead to incest between fathers and sons.
Cumming took especial offense, having entered into a civil union with his husband in London in 2007 and legally marrying in New York last year:
I hate when people say they don’t have strong feelings about something then proceed to spew offensive and ignorant ones #jeremyirons
— Alan Cumming (@Alancumming) April 4, 2013
(h/t: Pink News)
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yaoming
I think legalized marriage equality is likely to lead to about as much marrying between fathers and sons as there is currently between mothers and sons. How much of that does Mr. Irons think is going on?
What an idiot.
Darling Nikki
I guess he regrets that he doesn’t have a daughter to marry since he has 2 sons.
Lefty
I don’t understand what was offensive about what he actually said, though.
He wasn’t talking about sexual relations between fathers and sons, but potential loop-holes where a father could marry his son in order to avoid tax or some similar nonsense.
In fact, he made a point to say that he wished well anyone who falls in love and wants to spend their lives together and that he didn’t feel strongly about it one way or the other.
I thought his concerns were a bit moronic, but I can’t stand all this fake hysteria that gets churned up in response.
Kieran
If the dumb twit were paying attention he’d understand we’re talking about equal marriage rights for citizens who happen to be gay. How Jeremy twisted that into fathers possibly marrying their daughters or mothers marrying their daughters is totally bizarre.
Darling Nikki
@Lefty
He also referenced marrying one’s beloved animals too. He is cray cray.
stfallon1028
Talk about the Battle of the Bitchy British Queens! I know Cumming is Scottish but I’ve been dying to use that alliteration, and this is as good a chance as I’m going to get
monroeplace
Irons, a great actor, really lost his mind when he talked about fathers marrying their sons. Where the hell did that come from?
alterego1980
@stfallon1028: I love it. And I guess he could be called British as he was born on the Island of Great Britain!
DonW
@stfallon1028: Scottish people *are* British. They are citizens of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland… at least until/unless the Scottish independence referendum passes next year!
stfallon1028
@DonW: Exactly. Every Scot I’ve ever met has not liked being called the “B” word, even if they’re technically a part of the kingdom
balehead
Lost alot of respect for Jeremy Irons with this one..sad..
mz.sam
At least Jeremy Brain Freeze Irons isn’t calling a press conference justifying his comments and explain his away his progressive mental disorder like other lesser celebrities.
2eo
@stfallon1028: Relax, they’re just upset they’re worse than England at absolutely everything.
Lefty
@2eo: Apart from deep-frying confectionery…
alexoloughlin
@Lefty: Marrying someone implies that sexual activity will take place. He didn’t make any reference to mothers marrying their daughters or fathers marrying their daughters or mothers marrying their sons. Instead, he targeted males marrying males, blood relatives. Under the 1949 and 1973 Matrimonial Causes Act of the UK, it would not be allowed and it won’t be after equal marriage is legalized. Irons is nothing more than a moron. He knows damned well parents won’t ever be allowed to marry their children. He said it to foment intolerance to equal marriage, nothing more, because he’s a god botherer. A bit rich coming from a man on his second marriage who committed adultery during his first. Now I wonder who caused that? So much for their one man one woman crap, in his case, two women involved in his first.
Lefty
@alexoloughlin: “Marrying someone implies that sexual activity will take place.”
No it doesn’t. Have you never heard the phrase “marriage of convenience”?
Pete
@yaoming: Iron’s raised the interesting legal point that parents and children might use ‘gay marriage’ as a means of dodging inheritance taxes. People do stuff like that all the time.
It’s not like he said the usual ‘sacred union between a man and a woman’ bs
Pete
@Pete: I should add that sham cross-generational ‘gay’ marriages are fare more likely in the UK, where the inheritance tax schedule is much more confiscatory than it is in the US.
Pete
@alexoloughlin: Not all marriages imply sexual activity. Obviously if one of the partners is handicapped in that regard. Also, keep in mind that both RC and Anglican nuns’ vow is a ‘marriage’ to Jesus. They wear bridal gowns.
Daggerman
..that is totally correct, as Alan Cumming said Mr. Jeremy Irons is ignorant on this issue–because I for one would feel the Law should see through such a silly facade, if two males got married what exactly would their claim be? That they love each other? Well a father and son are supposed to love each other so therefore what would be the point of it. Come on, this actor is acting like a twit and people ought to notice that!