In a recently resurfaced 1971 Playboy interview with John Wayne, Wayne called gay men “f*gs,” called gay love “perverted,” said “I believe in white supremacy” and claimed that Europeans did nothing wrong in killing Native Americans who “were selfishly trying to keep [American land] for themselves.”
In the interview, Wayne also said that black Americans were less intelligent than white ones and shouldn’t be admitted into colleges until they become more educated. He also implied that Hollywood treats white actors and actors of color equally, completely ignoring the reality of systemic racism in public education and employment.
Even in their full context, Wayne’s statements are abhorrent. So naturally, Fox News had to step in and defend him (because dead ultra-macho film actors need defending, apparently).
Jesus fuck, John Wayne was a straight up piece of shit
(Playboy interview, May 1971) pic.twitter.com/okfG1iZb0U
— Matt Williams (@pixelpreaching) February 18, 2019
On Laura Ingraham’s show, The Ingraham Angle, the infamous conservative talking head—who has her own history of nasty racist and queerphobic rhetoric—defended Wayne.
Her guest said, “What I don’t like about … these stories is we’re judging the past in light of shifting moral, ethical and cultural codes of today. We can’t do that.”
Ingraham said, “They’re either defacing statues or pulling them down… This is what the Taliban does. The Taliban used to rip down historical markers, destroy churches. ISIS did the same thing… They don’t want any vestige of what was… even if it’s good, they don’t want any vestige.”
Vestige is a word that means “something that has become useless in the light of evolution.”
Her male guest goes on to call John Wayne an iconic image of America and says that his critics are impugning America by criticizing him. He adds, “If you want to settle a racist scores, talk to Jussie Smollett, go talk to the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. They got plenty of scores to settle… Deal with the living, not the dead.”
Laura Ingraham *defends* John Wayne's comment that "I believe in white supremacy until the blacks are educated to a point of responsibility."
"The is what the Taliban does…rip down historical markers," she says. "They don't want any vestige of what was” pic.twitter.com/pA02fgaamr
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 21, 2019
By bringing up a black gay actor accused of faking a conservative hate crime, a Democratic leader who did blackface and another accused of sexual assault, Ingraham’s guest resorts to diversionary whatabout-ism that entirely misses the point.
Wayne’s comments occurred years after the U.S. Civil Rights movement and the Stonewall uprising. Thus, his comments aren’t being judged by standards of today—they’re being judged by standards of his own time. Even then, people knew both racism and homophobia were wrong.
Related: Laura Ingraham: I Will Always Be Against Gay Marriage
Ingraham would like to imagine that Wayne’s critics are no better than terrorists or murderers, attempting to turn her viewers violently against them. But instead of blaming modern people for unearthing Wayne’s comments, she’d do better to understand why he said such awful things to begin with.
Wayne’s family has defended the actor, stating that he treated everyone fairly during his lifetime and was married to three different Latina women. (You can be married to women of color and still say racist and homophobic things, by the way.) Wayne died in 1979.
Aires the Ram
So desperate in finding a racist around every corner Queerty, that you’re now resorting to resurrecting the dead to do so? Pretty f-ing pathetic.
truthseeker
Queerty is mad at the late John Wayne for saying racist or homophobic things almost 50 years ago but still hasn’t posted 1 story about the Democrat Virginia Governor who wore blackface and was called “Coonman” in college and still refuses to step down
Polaro
The governor is not a racist and therein lies your problem; one photo does not make one a racist. Your attempt to re-frame history for your snowflake desires is pathetic. Dressing as a black man in the 80 was not part of the minstrel blackface racism of the 1930s. No one thought it was racist in the 80s. They do now. Context matters. If you persist then I will have to insist that black women who straighten their hair are racists, which is almost as stupid as claiming a social liberal governor with a good record on race is a racist.
Daniel Villarreal
Aires the Ram (nice spelling, btw), if we’re f-ckin pathetic and you read our site, what does that say about you?
Truthseeker, find us the gay angle on the Virginia Democrat story and we’ll run it. Until then, can it.
My work here is done 🙂
truthseeker
@Daniel Villarreal
You would’ve got me there if what you say was true but Queerty has ran a handful of “black face” stories that have zero gay angles in them.
For instance, when I search “racist” in Queerty’s search feature, I found a story where Queerty reported on a Republican named Mike Yenni who wore black face and there was no gay angle to the story, a story about a Republican named Michael Ertel who wore black face with no gay spin in the story, and numerous Megyn Kelly black face stories that have no gay angle in them.
I’d never tell Queerty to “can it” or that you shall not say that. I just question why there isn’t equality in reporting and now when it’s pointed out, I’m given a dishonest answer
Daniel Villarreal
Truthseeker, my ‘dishonest” answer comes more from me as a contributor and not as a site editor since I’m not one. I decide what I write about, not the site’s other writers. As such, I’d never report a blackface story on here unless there was a gay angle, but alas, my colleagues don’t feel the same. Regardless, I stand by what I originally wrote.
Daggerman
..ah yeah but do people know John Wayne was actually a bit of a fag anyway!! True. I mean being in that type of business you’d think a butch acting guy would easily get away with being homosexual, it’s just a matter of how well you conceal your sexuality…
@DmitriyR
I am not sure that you are right
Charlie in Charge
As Patrick Stewart’s character said in Jeffrey, “Ooh, get her!”
Polaro
John Wayne was an entitled dick. His views were those of every other entitled dick back then.
Daggerman
…many men can f**k women and still have sex with men…oh how it’s sounds so preposterous!!!
Bubbleandsqueal
He played himself in “The Searchers.” A pathological racist. And, yet, it’s still one of the greatest American movies ever made.
IAMBROWN
This was 50 years ago. The world was different. I dont understand holding people (esp dead people) accountable for something they said 50 years ago. If he were alive today and spreading this rhetoric that would be something else.
jcoberkrom
What no one seems to remember is what a mediocre actor Wayne was. A movie star yes. An actor . . . . not really.
iamru2
Yet he won the Oscar for acting!
radiooutmike
The right really does love their fantasy stories about their god, their culture and their entertainers.
Doug
This isn’t news. JW was a proud Republican and the Playboy interview was very controversial when it came out in 1971.
Rock-N-RollHS
Many older movie stars were republicans back then. The party was different than it was now. Many Democrats during WWII and civil rights supportors–like Frank Sinatra–became republicans in the late 60s and 70s because there was a cataclysmic generational shift between those who fought in WWII and the anti-war, hippie and countercultural movement. Sinatra made lots of racist jokes with Sammy Davis Jr., yet, he put his neck on the line for black musicians, refusing to perform in segregated spaces, advocating for black artists, and performing in prisons largely populated by black inmates. But we live in a time of words words words, and image images images, when actions are so much more important. Liberals also throw out the baby with the bath water if someone does one thing that offends.
Rock-N-RollHS
So don’t watch his films, my delicate flowers. Otherwise, watch them with historical context, and grow up.
btw, JW worked with Rock Hudson and, even back then, said he didn’t care who RH slept with and that RH was a great friend. (All in RH latest biography, written by a gay man I believe.) Wayne was not homophobic, certainly not in the context of the times. He was playing a role.
The Western was a fantasy, one many of us can enjoy as an historical relic.
Aires the Ram
Shall we go back even further and demonize famous male actors that have been dead for over 60 years, or 70 years, or 80 years, or 90 years, or even 100 years??? What about the statements made by FEMALE actors of the same vintage?? Perhaps we should go back to the time of the Civil War and demonize people who lived at that time? Is the sky NOT even the limit in this witch hunt for “racists”??
And what the hell does this have to do with the so-called “gay community” anyways?
Answer: It has nothing to do with the gay community. This is an attempt to demonize those who reject socialism/communism, and call them ‘racists’. Kind of like Hillary Clinton calling over half of the country “Deplorables”.
wiley
John Wayne was a draft dodger who got his big break by taking roles that actors with bigger names at the time would have been tapped to play if they had not fulfilled their military obligations.
Toofie
Look, getting outraged over a 50 year interview with a dead guy is a waste of time. However, that interview is pretty terrible!
Coruna2018
Why is the John Wayne interview even news? Anyone who knows anything about him knows his views were retrograde even when he gave the interview in 1971. His pro-Vietnam War stance alienated much of the public. It’s apparent that whoever reported the story, as well as many posters on here, didn’t know much about John Wayne or don’t know much about how controversial his views were during much of his career, of how he supported the blacklist of the 1940’s-1950’s, the John Birch Society, and support for the Vietnam War. This is, indeed, old news, not worthy of repeating the story anywhere. There were also confirmed stories of John Wayne enjoying men, sexually, on occasion. The hero worshippers will bash me because even many gay men equate homosexuality with effeminacy but John Wayne was a bisexual man who leaned much more to women. Like he was, there are millions of other American men today.
gymmuscleboy
Queerty, shame on you, once again, for titling your articles with outright lies. Fox News never said it was cool. Ingram’s statement was COMPLETELY different.