The actor Matthew Morrison, who plays song-and-dance teacher Will Schuester on Fox’s Glee, is a straight man. Not in the “straight guy but maybe gay if I pray hard enough” sort of way. Completely straight, likes the ladies, and won’t be teabagging any guys anytime soon. But because he stars in a gay television show, and this is Hollywood, rumors get started and such. So in December, he found himself insisting to Elle that he was breeder through and through. And he hated it.
“That was, like, the worst interview I’ve ever done,” he says now, “and it kind of turned me off from doing interviews completely, because that guy [the interviewer] was such a dick. It just turned into like a verbal sparring match and I was trying to be polite to him, but just right off the bat he came out with all these crazy accusations and stuff. So I was like, ‘Ok, buddy… .’ I was completely caught off-guard.”
From reading an interview that’s translated to print —
ELLE: So, Matt, you’re a musical theater star who’s been interviewed by The Advocate and much discussed on Manhunt.com, and you star in Glee, a program that’s referred to as “the gayest show on TV.” You must feel particularly proud being the first gay man to grace this page.
MATTHEW MORRISON: I’m not gay.
ELLE: I had indeed read in various places that you’re straight, but in light of the circumstantial evidence, I wasn’t sure.
MM: I grew up singing and dancing, so people have been calling me gay since fifth grade. I’ve heard everything you could possibly hear about it. But I do love gay people, so I’m not going to act like I was insulted or angry about it.
ELLE: But do you ever do anything to suppress your gayest traits? Like, on a club dance floor, will you keep a lid on your best moves in order not to look too much like Tommy Tune out there?
MM: Oh, yeah. I’ll do what I refer to as “the shoulder dance,” just, you know, move my shoulders and do a little head bobbing.
ELLE: What was the first moment you realized you were a heterosexual being?
MM: I was really sexual from an early age. My first kiss was actually with two girls at the same time. One girl would be behind the bush with me for a minute and the other girl would be timing us. Then they’d switch.
— it’s always difficult to tell whether the interviewer (here it’s Elle‘s Andrew Goldman) was being sarcastic and cute, or obnoxious and offensive. And while we feel for Morrison a touch, because he probably fields the “Sure you’re not gay?” question all the time, that’s sort of the territory you enter when the character you play on television advises students on how to act Sasha Fierce.
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Mr. Enemabag Jones
but just right off the bat he came out with all these crazy accusations and stuff.
I didn’t see any accusations in that interview. What “accusations” is Mr. Morrison alluding to? I really must ask, who’s being the dick now, Matty?
That said, I wondr how straight people like being grilled about their sexuality.
kevinvancouver
UGGHH Story? where? here? nah not really.. if he’s straight he’s straight who are the closed minded people now?
Shade
@Mr. Enemabag Jones: The interview you read is not everything that was spoken, those are always edited down for space.
The Milkman
Damn, Morrison. Nice gutters. Color me impressed.
Hilarious
Wow now people are gonna be a total dick to a straight guy for hanging out with gay men?
Really?
I’m pretty sure this taking 12 steps back. I guess he should stay away from us and treat us like freaks so people will leave him alone.
Way to fight the good fight and attack a straight guy for being a good person who doesn’t hate us.
alan brickman
WHY CAN’T STRAIGHT GUYS HANG OUT WITH THEIR GAY FRIENDS?….SOUNDS PREJUDICIAL TO ME…
alan brickman
definately the right way to get equal rights faster….I am kidding of course….
fredo777
all i wanna know is: a). are those underwear he’s wearing with the cute crazy stripe detail on the waistband separate from the yellow shorts/pants at the bottom? if so, i want a pair like that.
oh, there’s no “b).”. i just want some crazy stripe underwear.
ProfessorVP
@Mr. Enemabag Jones: I was struck immediately by the word “accusations” also. Monsieur Morrison, J’ACCUSE! Thinking of years past, and apparently now the present, phrases like “accused of being gay” and “so-and-so admits he’s gay” have a meaning that’s not exactly subtle, either to the speaker or listener.
LJG
In my humble opinion, the ELLE interviewer had a misconception. And then, upon realizing the mistake (we HAVE to take Matt’s word for it–that he’s straight), the interviewer should have apologized and not go on insisting his misconception.
I mean, wouldn’t you be upset if someone kept insisting that you are this or that, when in fact, YOU and only YOU can really say what you really are?
Mily
Right, because it’s SO appropriate for an interviewer to start a conversation off with “So, Matt, are you gay?”
The FUCK? I realize you have a list of questions you want/need to ask, but who starts off with the guest celeb’s sexuality? Matt has every right to be irritated with this jerk.
lover
‘You must feel particularly proud being the first gay man to grace this page’
to Mr. Enemabag Jones
accusation is right there.. that’s not a question.
D'oh, The Magnificent
@Mily: Why is that question sacred? Do you also think its inappropriate to ask someone how their wife is doing? It is a celebrity interview. We don’t read them to see how their shows are doing. We can figure that out without hearing from the celebrity.
Gregg
He is so straight he f@@ked around on my friend his then live fiancé with at least one if not more girls. Till she found out and moved out. He’s not just straight he’s a dick.
ChrisM
@Lover
The point is the word accusation has a negative connotation. What the interviewer did was make an assumption. He was maybe trying to get Matt to say he was or wasn’t gay, without outright asking him.
However, when you say someone “accused you of being gay,” it makes it sound hostile, like you were being insulted. Sure, Matt says he is supportive of gays. But let’s face it, even some of our supporters still think they’re superior to us. Matt might be one of them.
Scott
Develop your own “straight-dar” for men. There’s a certain quality about straight men that you can see in the face. It’s a hardness. You can imagine that if he drinks coffee he’ll have unattractive coffee breath. Mr. Morrison has this quality. A very good example of it is Dan Harris who works at ABC. Look at him the next time he anchors the newscast (often on weekends). The quality produces a “je ne sais quoit but I don’t want it” kind of revulsion.
jeffree
@Scott: You are kidding right?
If str8 men have a “hardness” about the face then your logic says gay men have softness. By ur logic IF Mathew Morrison doesnt have a hardness to his face then he must be gay? even though we know he isnt? if anderson cooper’s face has hardness, does this make him not gay?
Jason Chicago
I love how Glee is “the gay show” as opposed to what “Law & Order” is a straight show? Stupid ass comments like that set us back 25 years and segregate us from the rest of society. I happen to like Glee but I also love Baseball, college football and cars. I’m sick of “gay music”, “gay shows”, “gay movies”….just b/c some gay men like it it’s JUST for gay men? Blissfully ignorant aren’t we Queerty.
G
I think my main issue with this article is “When did you first realize you were heterosexual?” I can just imagine how the interviewer said that question which I’m assuming is where the ‘accusations’ come in to play. I’d say that was a pretty douchey question from the interviewer.
scott ny'er
@jeffree: @Jason Chicago: Kudos to your replies. They make sense.
yeahandalso
I feel for him, I’m gay but have a straight roommate who is into theater and performing (we met in a play) and he gets accused of it all the time. Even some of my closest friends have asked if we hooked up, I’m as offended by it as he is. He is straight, I am gay and we share a 2 bedroom no idea why everybody else doesn’t find it that simple that there are cool, smart, accepting straight men out there but this teasing and acusitory culture just prevents more straight men from having gay friends!
yeahandalso
@ Jason Chicago – Glee! is a gay show because it features openly gay characters and deals with issues like a high school student trying out for the football teal and coming out to his mechanic dad in the same episode…its a gay show in the good way
MeMyselfI
Shame on not just the Elle reporter, but the author of this article for pushing gay stereotypes that we have all fought so long to outgrow.
How on earth is “Glee” a gay TV show? It’s not “Queer as Folk”, there is only one gay character on the show. The show has two Jewish people and two Asians- does that make it a Jewish show or an Asian show?
The plot line so far has revolved around two love triangles including two pregnancies, so it sounds like a straight show to me.
And to top it off, he is not even playing a gay character- his CHARACTER is straight, involved in a straight love triangle with two straight women one of whom was pretending to be pregnant with his baby.
He is a straight man playing a straight character on a straight TV show, yet you think he’s gay because he can sing and dance?!?
Or is it that you just WISH he’s gay because he’s hot?
SteveDenver
Mister Schu, LOVE YOU. I’m glad you’re straight, somebody’s gotta make hot gay babies and it ain’t gonna be me!
Please stay fun, please take off your shirt as often as possible. Don’t worry about doing a nude shoot, I won’t think you’re gay.
lily
Look, Matt is a self-absorbed asshole, which I can attest to, and anyone with half a brain knows he’s gay. The interviewer obviously knew he was gay and probably spent some time talking with him before, picking up on how rude and narcissistic Matt is and decided to have some fun with it. Professional? No. Does Matt deserve it? Yes.
CRG
I have to say in a recent interview (either L.A. or Details) he kind of came across as a bit of a dick himself. There is a quote from Jane Lynch in the same article, “You certainly get the impression that Matthew knows he can write his own ticket…” Is that really a complement?
alan brickman
he needs to stop kissing guys at the boy bars then….