Hugh Jackman may not mind if people suspect he’s gay, but his wife is clearly over it. Can you blame her?
Appearing on the Not an Overnight Success podcast Deborra-Lee Furness called the persistent rumors “silly” and argued that if true, he’d have come out by now.
“I mean, hello guys – if he was gay, he could be gay!” she said. “He didn’t have to hide in the closet anymore, and he’d be dating Brad Pitt, or whatever. Not that Brad’s gay, but you know what I’m saying!”
She added: “It’s so silly, and then people perpetuate silly things and it’s boring.”
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This isn’t the first time Deborra-Lee has voiced her take on the rumors, which picked up new momentum in 2018 during Jackman’s performance as Peter Allen, a gay singer-songwriter, in the stage production of The Boy From Oz.
Related: Shawn Mendes dives even deeper into gay rumors
In a 2020 appearance on the TV show Anh’s Brush With Fame Deborra-Lee said: “I see these magazines, and they’re so mean-spirited. So I hope people don’t buy these magazines and realize it’s all made up.
“It’s just wrong. It’s like someone saying to Elton John he’s straight. I’m sure he’d be pissed. He’s not straight!”
Jackman has taken a more laid-back approach to the rumors, at least publicly. “Some dudes do get upset, some dudes say, ‘Don’t say I’m gay,’” he said in 2018, “but I am good.”
He previously admitted that the topic annoys his wife. “Just recently, it bugs her,” he told The Hollywood Reporter in 2013. “She goes: ’It’s big. It’s everywhere!’”
Jackman has a long history as a queer ally, and also endorsed the increased visibility of LGBTQ people in film. “I’m all for it,” he has said, “in every single aspect and I’m proud to be a part of any solution to [curb discrimination of queer people] through storytelling.”
The couple has been married since 1996 and have two children.
Chrisk
Actually he wouldn’t be where he is if he came out as gay. That’s just not going to happen while he’s making billions for the studios.
At any rate, I had no idea of the rumors and care just as little.
BennyTheHill
It’s no one’s business what Jackman’s sexual orientation is.
m
Never heard of the rumors, but now here it is…
Jim
Okay let’s be up front Hugh could do sooooo much better then Brad Pitt.
And if he’s not willing to date me I dot’ care what his orientation is!!!!
Diplomat
To be safe, she’d be the last to know he’s bisexual or gay.
jcool
ok, i believe her, he’s not gay. but for curiosity’s sake, ask her how big it is.
CKNJ
One big fail was not recognizing him when I was at a Cinema. Visiting the bathroom, standing at an open-sided urinal, I did not look! After this ‘very tall guy’ left, the guy on the other side said “my god, we just took a pee next to Hugh Jackman!”… dammit, I did not sneak a peek!!!! Grrr!
Donston
It’s a little tired that she literally addresses this every couple years in the media. Both her and the media need to let it go. I don’t even think these “rumors” would still be a thing if she didn’t keep bringing it up for years. Hell, it’s not really much of a thing anymore.
The “rumors” aren’t completely unfounded. Hugh was known to go to a lot of Bryan Singer parties for a few years. He has come off kinda “fruity” on occasion in interviews and in candid videos. And it is a bit of stereotype for men who date/partner with older women to be in the queer spectrum. But ultimately, no one can speak on anyone else’s dimensions, struggles or journeys. It is odd that she constantly says her husband “isn’t ‘gay” in these interviews. “Gay” is merely an identity people embrace or don’t. It doesn’t really mean that he’s heterosexual, doesn’t mean that someone isn’t in the queer spectrum, doesn’t mean someone hasn’t experienced degrees of fluidity or questioning or dimensions, doesn’t mean that someone does not have overall homo-leanings or preferences, doesn’t mean that someone is not in the gender, sexual, affection, emotional investment, romantic attachment, relationship contentment, commitment spectrum. It’s as well silly and naive to say he’d be “out” by now. Some folks don’t “come out” until they’re 50 or older, some not at all. Some folks’ egos or internalized phobias or mental health struggles or families keep them closeted forever. And we know there are many closet cases in the entertainment industry. For a lot of people, particularly in the entertainment industry, their status, opportunities, money, ego, image matter more than anything else. Her whole quote just came off nuance-less, dated, naive and insecure.
In general, this is something everyone, including her, needs to let go and stop addressing. Just live your life.
charette8596
That’s easy for you to say. It’s probably just gotten on her nerves when some jackasses from the media keep asking her the same stupid questions and expecting different answers. Put yourself in her position and tell us it wouldn’t become annoying after a bit.
Donston
Honestly, it’s not really a question for her to answer. Even being someone’s partner doesn’t mean you have the right to define them. Even being someone’s partner doesn’t mean that you know all the dimensions of their sexuality or their struggles or their motivations or where they are in the gender, sexual, affection, romantic, emotion, commitment spectrum.
I don’t know if she was asked in this interview. But the last interview she mentioned it she definitely brought it up herself. And even at that point it was a mostly dead rumor. There’s so much gossip and so many queer rumors about public figures. You can’t address it literally every couple of years. While if you are going to address it, you need to come up with more clever or more nuanced or less basic responses. The whole “if he were ‘gay’ he’d be dating a guy now” response is dated as hell and doesn’t at all reflect different people’s circumstances, nuances, struggles, journeys. While even if Jackson were entirely homo in every way, there’d be almost no benefit to being “out”. It was just a silly response. She’s been addressing this multiple times for years. Her answers should have more polish by now.
Bromancer7
The wife is always the last one to know, living in a state of denial.
There is literally no good reason for Hugh to publicly come out at this point.
Donston
If Hugh is in the queer spectrum there’s a pretty good chance that she’s well aware. Entertainment industry marriages are different from “regular people” marriages. That’s perhaps why she keeps saying that her husband isn’t “gay” rather than saying that he’s “straight” or not into “dudes”. But yes, unless he falls in love with a guy and to have a serious commitment with him and wants a divorce, there would be little benefit to Hugh being publicly “out” at this stage, no matter the dimensions of his sexuality, journey, lifestyle, preferences, or where he is in the gender, sexual, affection, romantic, emotion, commitment spectrum. So, it really is best that everyone, especially her, moves on.
Troyfight
@Bromancer7 you could be right. ….wow, just a little research brings up a lot of sexy gay situations with Hugh. (Their two children are adopted, btw) John Palermo….. + ….still I certainly don’t know. Either way, I enjoy Hugh in pretty much everything I’ve seen him in. Not much gossip of his contemporaries (aside from Tom C and John T) getting any of this: Denzel? Mark W? Brad P? Jason Stathum? Zero….who knows. ….but then there is Jake Gyllenhaal. Oh boy. Toothy tile lol
MacAdvisor
Yes, the children are adopted, but his wife had two miscarriages.
Troyfight
@MacAdvisor ok.
johncp56
Bi would be good,, but I never heard Gay rumors, and what if he were Bi but on the super DL even she would not let it out,,, their choice, I know many discreet Bi guys, and married,, soem of the best sex pent up lol
tjack47
She’s the Ruth Whiting to his Jack Wrangler.
Clamzilla
It’s Margaret Whiting, not Ruth. I’m old enough to remember these things. Sorry.
CatholicXXX
People still care?
MacAdvisor
I have a close friend from college who dropped out and became a dancer on Broadway. He long ago aged out of dancing and is now Hugh’s dresser in Music Man. He says Hugh is the nicest, most pleasant big name he has ever worked for and a truly thoughtful man. He also told he has not a gay bone in his body, but funny about it all. I think Jackman is secure enough in both his accomplishments and sexuality to really not care what other people think.
JB
Well expressed.
Donston
Working with someone doesn’t really mean that you know the dimensions of their sexuality, their lifestyle, their preferences, where they are in the gender, sexual, affection, romantic, emotion, commitment spectrum. Plenty of guys don’t ping the “gaydar” or they constantly talk about chicks or they constantly hook up with chicks, but they’re still very much in the queer spectrum. While Jackson is rumored to mostly be into twinks. So, he wouldn’t likely be into any guys in that production.
I have no clue what the dimensions of Jackson’s sexuality is or where he is in the spectrum. But folks do need to stop being so basic when it comes to how they understand people and their dimensions. I do appreciate that Jackson pays the rumors dust, instead of constantly feeding into like his wife. If she had the same mindset, the rumors would be dead by now.
MacAdvisor
Donston, I think the other way round: twinks are mostly into Jackson. Yes, we need to be more open to a wider, fuller spectrum of sexuality, but sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
Donston
The rumors were that he likes teenage boys. Hence, why he was constantly hanging out at a lot of Bryan Singer parties for years. No one can say if that’s true or not. And no one knows the exact dimensions of anyone’s sexuality, their dimensions or fluidity or journey, their motivations, where they are in the gender, sexual, affection, emotion, commitment. But the whole “my friend hung out with him for a few months so he knows all his dimensions” stuff is just naive and silly.
But honestly, this is an old ass topic. It’s only really been brought up whenever Mrs. Jackman brings it up publicly. I don’t know if this is about publicity or insecurities or what. But it really is something she needs to let go.
DuMaurier
Seeing that headline was very disorienting; it was like, “Did I just go back in time ten years?”
ducdebrabant
“The couple has been married since 1996 and have two children.”
Aren’t those two children adopted?
Jazz
After they had a few miscarriages from memory
nm4047
Does he have a new movie coming out? When was the most recent time were the gay rumours stated? 2010? In his day was a very stunning looking man, still good looking and has aged well but not the sex symbol he once was.
Nachum
Methinks the lady doth protest too much!
JB
Queerty, your date for Jackman’s role in The Boy from Oz is off by over 18 years. (Where are your fact checkers???) Jackman originated the role on Broadway in 2003, then reprised his role in 2006 for a month-long run in Australia. While it’s true there was a revival of the musical in Melbourne in 2018, Jackman was not connected in any way to that production.
inbama
Are they not selling out his universally panned “Music Man” and need to stir up some free press?
Heck, Hugh Jackman was the sexiest man on Broadway twenty years ago. Nobody cares about the sexual orientation of a 53 year old.
Hard to know why the creative team made the horrid PC choices they did, but casting the irritating-voiced Sutton Foster in a role made famous by the late but glorious Barbara Cook is hard to understand. Weren’t Laura Benanti, Kelli O’Hara or Lauren Ambrose available? They can sing.
agarryking
He’s a great actor, a truly fine looking man, and, I believe, a kind one. He makes every film and stage production, better. That’s all I need to know.