Rather often these days, a self-identified “straight” public figure will be caught acting rather, well, “gay.” Maintaining a Grindr profile, for instance. Soliciting sex in a public restroom. Or being snapped by paparazzi getting cozy with another dude on the beach. And when this occurs, you can bet the man who is caught, ahem, red handed, will quickly come up with an explanation (rationalization?) for the behavior.
Some excuses are more believable than others. Some are downright bizarro. But we’ll let you decide which ones are legit.
Check out these allegedly “straight” guys and the excuses they’ve made after being caught acting gay.
“I did it for the money”: Paul Canon and his gay-for-pay adult film career
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The gay-for-pay adult film actor “came out” to his family earlier this year during a trip home to discuss his career for a Broke Straight Boys produced reality series.
Dressed in a black t-shirt that read “I’m not gay, but $1000 is $1000,” the 22-year-old said: “I really don’t care about defining my own sexuality. At this point now, I don’t like labels, I can’t stand labels.”
Then he said he was sexually attracted to women.
His family, however, was not convinced. Canon’s father said he believed his son was gay. His two brothers agreed, saying they always felt he preferred men to women.
Eventually, Canon caved. Sort of. He said okay, maybe he liked guys, but he also liked girls.
“I guess I would be considered bisexual,” he meditated. “The reason I don’t like labels like that is bisexuality has this negative connotation of being confused, and I’m definitely not confused. I mean, I know what I like. I definitely find women attractive, but then there’s certain aspects of men that I find attractive.”
What can we say? Other than he’s 22.
“I’m being targeted because I’m a celebrity”: Aaron Rodgers and those “uncool” tweets
The Green Bay Packers quarterback found himself at the center of gay rumors late last year when a number of now-deleted tweets from the Twitter account of Kevin Lanflisi, the man who worked as Rodgers’ “personal assistant” and lived in his home as “a roommate” for the several years, were unearthed by an internet spy. In addition to some rather dramatic language, the tweets included pictures of Rodgers and Lanslisi hanging out on the beach, roadtripping across California, and attending a Justin Bieber concert.
The whole incident prompted Rodgers to “come out” as “straight” on his Milwaukee radio program. “I’m just going to say I’m not gay,” Rodgers said on 540 WAUK-AM in Milwaukee. “I really, really like women. That’s all I can really say about that.”
He added that one of the downsides to stardom is “crazy rumors that swirl around you from time to time,” adding that the whole gay rumor thing was part of the “uncool” side of celebrity.
Really, Aaron? Really?
“Just Chatting”: Matt Moore and that totally innocent Grindr account
When it was discovered the “ex-gay” activist Matt Moore had a secret Grindr profile, the 25-year-old born again Christian explained that “Basically I just wanted to see who was on it and who was around me. I can honestly say that I didn’t have any kind of sexual conversations with anyone. Anyone who sent me any kind of explicit photos or conversations, I blocked immediately.”
Did you catch that? He blocked them immediately. Since you really can’t block everyone on Grindr, we suggest he would have better luck deleting his profile.
“He was just a client”: Joe Simpson and male model
When pics of Joe Simpson and a 21-year-old dude frolicking on the beach together surfaced online last summer, the 56-year-old businessman tweeted: “More mis-information in the new [sic]. The guy in the pics is my modeling Client. He was in Miami taking agency meetings. That’s it!!”
Hmmm. We don’t usually cavort on the beach with our clients, but hey as excuses go it may not be the worst. At least he wasn’t on Gridr blocking peeps.
Of course, there is a broader context here. It wasn’t the first time gay rumors swirled around the former minister. In 2012, a 32-year-old gay male escort shared the alleged details of his three-hour, $600 love fest with Mr. Simpson, claiming his “insatiable appetite for sex…never really tired.”
Simpson never responded to those allegations. But he did divorce his wife of 35 years, Tina, shortly after.
“I was asleep”: Antoine Dodson and the Black Hebrew Israelite descendants of Judah
Last year, Internet-sensation Antoine Dodson said the reason he was gay in the past was because he had been “asleep,” but now he was “awakened.” Not only that, but he was also “the True Chosen Hebrew Israelite descendant of Judah.”
“I have to renounce myself,” he said in a statement. “I’m no longer into homosexuality. I have been awaken by the great and so should you. Let’s be delivered from the wickedness of the world and live the way we should. The Most High bless all and have a beautiful evening. Israel wake up and take full power of who you are. I’m ready are you?”
What can we really say to that one?
“Mistaken gender identity”: Brett Ratner and the man he didn’t know was a man
In 2007, the Hollywood director/producer, who has a history of saying really stupid things, confessed that he once messed around with a guy. While promoting his film Rush Hour 3, Ratner said a BJ scene in the movie was inspired by his own experience.
“My first blow job was from a man, but I didn’t know it was a man,” he said. “It happens to a lot of people.”
Since Ratner “didn’t know” the person performing fellatio on his was a man, this means it doesn’t count as gay, naturally.
“Just payin’ off my debt”: Cathal McCarron and that gambling addiction
The Irish footballer made international headlines in April when video of him getting banged by another dude surfaced on an adult website.
After the footage emerged, 25-year-old McCarron went into hiding, deleting his Facebook and Twitter accounts and checking into rehab in the Irish countryside.
Though he’s never spoken publicly about the video, McCarron’s allies say he did the film only to pay off debts acquired from his gambling addiction.
“Everyone is shocked and stunned,” a former neighbor said at the time of the scandal. “No one can believe it and everyone is devastated for him. It’s a very sad story for Cathal. He’s had so many issues and he must be in a very bad place. We all hope he can pull through this.”
“I was drunk”: Ben Hobson and those pesky bipolar genes
The married father of two had everyone in tears when he shared his emotional coming out story in May of this year. Then in October, he backtracked, writing on his Facebook page: “I ‘fooled around’ with a guy while drunk a year ago and thought that meant I MUST be gay. Turns out my judgement was wrong. My mom must’ve passed down her bipolar genes onto me, but to a whole other level.”
A lapse in judgement as a result of inebriation and bipolar genes inherited from his suicidal mother. Classy.
“It’s not what it looked like”: Kerry Rhodes and his young male “assistant”
The former NFL star found himself at the center of gay rumors when shirtless photographs of him getting cozy with another man on the beach appeared online earlier this year.
Rhodes told TMZ it wasn’t what it looked like. “Photos have been circulating of my former assistant and I that have caused some rumors regarding my sexuality, and I want to address the situation,” he said. “I am not gay.”
But shortly after that, video of Rhodes half-naked and rolling around in bed with his “assistant” popped up online. It has since been deleted, but there are still plenty of screenshots floating around.
After the footage was released, a mysterious text message sent by Rhodes to an anonymous friend “leaked” to the media. In it, he alleged that he might be the father of Kim Kardashian’s baby.
“Man this could be my baby!!,” the text read. “I was f*cking her the same time as K.West was lol!!!”
So, obviously, this means he’s definitely, 100 percent straight.
“The wide stance”: Larry Craig and the false confession
The former Republican Senator from Idaho made national headlines in 2007 when he was arrested at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on suspicion of lewd conduct after allegedly soliciting an undercover male cop for sex by tapping the man’s shoe under a stall in a bathroom.
Craig told investigators he hadn’t meant to tap the officer’s shoe, blaming the foot rubbing on his “wide stance.”
“I’m a fairly wide guy,” he said.
But authorities weren’t convinced.
After pleading guilty in court, Craig held a press conference to say that, even though he had pled guilty, he wasn’t really guilty:
I am not gay. I never have been gay…. In June, I overreacted and made a poor decision. I chose to plead guilty to a lesser charge in hopes of making it go away…. Please let me apologize to my family, friends and staff and fellow Idahoans for the cloud placed over Idaho. I did nothing wrong at the Minneapolis airport. I did nothing wrong, and I regret the decision to plead guilty and the sadness that decision has brought on my wife, on my family, friends, staff and fellow Idahoans.
Needless to say, he’s not in politics anymore.
Anyone else remember some particularly creative rationalizations? Let the world know in comments…
Related stories:
Straight Men Are A Lot More Bisexual Than You Might Think
New “Straight Guys” Doc Explores Why So Many Straight Dudes Work In Gay Porn
Hetero Guys Open Up About Their Gay Porn Fetishes With Each Other
Graham Gremore is a columnist and contributor for Queerty and Life of the Law. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
jason smeds
Like Paul Canon, I also don’t like the word “bisexual” but I’ll use it anyway to illustrate how flawed a word it is.
You’ve got to remember that bisexuality is itself a spectrum. One end of the bisexual spectrum is extremely different from the opposite end of the bisexual spectrum. You can’t say the same about the words “homosexual” or “heterosexual”. In other words, you can’t say there’s a homosexual spectrum or a heterosexual spectrum.
Because there’s a spectrum for the word “bisexual” but not for the words “heterosexual” or “homosexual”, it’s unfair to place an equal weight on each of these words, especially if they are used in the context of identity politics.
hyhybt
Some of these seem like a stretch to me. How, for example, is it gay to go on a road trip?
hrnpip
@hyhybt: If it’s in a bus with a giant high-heeled shoe on top, yes, a road trip can be at least slightly gay.
PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID
@hyhybt: If you’re accompanied by a scarecrow, a lion and a tin man?!
Gay Card: OFFICIALLY REVOKED!
Trippy
Here are 2 that you missed:
Ted Haggard
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Haggard
George “Lift My Luggage” Rekers
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Alan_Rekers
dhmonarch89
if you watch the Cathal Mccarron video- he doesn’t flench when the guy slips it in his ass- clearly, he’s done it before. Porn Hub has the video- search his name, not sure if links to porn is allowed here
Chris
@hrnpip: A reference to Priscilla, Queen of the Desert … extra point, Gryffindor.
Personally, I prefer Mary Poppins’ explanation which is: “I never explain anything.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6ADGIHIKnI
ppp111
I admit I followed the Aaron Rodgers story earlier this year, especially the issue with Kevin Lanflisi. That picture of them sitting side by side on the beach supposedly is not Aaron. But the other pictures, especially the pics with the Superbowl ring and riding in his car around Chico are authentic. Sorry guys but I don’t think Aaron is gay. I do think something went down between those two and if there was any attraction it was most likely one-sided. Just my two cents!
Ladbrook
@dhmonarch89: Kudos to you for encouraging a google search for the Cathal McCarron vid. Wow. Maybe he did it for the specified “reasons” but if do, it was NOT his time at the gay rodeo. That man knows exactly what’s he’s doing from the very first frame, and he clearly enjoyed every second of it.
Desert Boy
Whores be whores.
Stache99
I guess when your fans are this utterly stupid and homophobic they believe they can get away with it. Just blame it on gambling, addictions, mental disorders and then talk about rehab and wholla I’m cured everyone. Just NEVER say the real reason.
You’d think he just molested a group of children..
“McCarron’s allies say he did the film only to pay off debts acquired from his gambling addiction.
“Everyone is shocked and stunned,” a former neighbor said at the time of the scandal. “No one can believe it and everyone is devastated for him. It’s a very sad story for Cathal. He’s had so many issues and he must be in a very bad place. We all hope he can pull through this.”
Captain Obvious
I love when a family knows their son is gay but the son keeps trying to press that he’s straight or bisexual. It’s like dude they don’t even care and you’re still trying to dilute it because you think they’ll swallow that better.
So many gay men afraid to be gay men and keep claiming bisexuality or a vague spectrum because god forbid you were born with a craving for penis and not vagina.
tricky ricky
having seen the Cathal McCarron video when it first came out, it is quite obvious to the casual viewer that this wasn’t his first time at the rodeo.
jwtraveler
What I find fascinating, and sad, about all this is that even in this age of gay marriage, gays in the media, politics and even sports, and rapidly increasing public acceptance of gay people, that there is still so much internalized homophobia that men will go to such great lengths to deny the obvious truth about themselves. (Whew! That was a long sentence) We still have a long way to go to reach the goal of true gay equality.
jason smeds
jwtraveler,
I think there’s developing an aversion to labels such as “gay” because people are realizing that “gay” is an offensive word which portrays homosexually oriented people as being bent. Keep in mind that the words gay and straight are used as opposites, thus creating the impression that if you’re not straight, you’re bent or twisted.
I just hope that more self-described gay men wake up to the self-loathing that is inherent in the word “gay”.
hyhybt
@jason smeds: Since “gay” and “straight” are unrelated words in their other usages, to the degree (if any at all) what you describe is an issue, the problem would not be that we’re called gay, but that straight people are called straight.
Tomislav
@Captain Obvious: True that!!! Well said 😀
Stache99
Larry Craig needs to explain how pleading guilty would just make it “go away”. Sounds like he wanted his cake and ice cream at the same time. I’m guilty as sin so I’ll admit to it and then lie through my teeth to the public. What a sad character.
andy0529
Aaron Rodgers problem started when TMZ and other rather gay straight sport websites spotted him with his “unattractive ” (their words not mine GF in Hawaii) and began questioning why he’s dating a scientist and now the same people are calling him Gay for a road trip with a man…really? As for the Footballer he’s got issues that he’s been using sex to cure for a tong time, that’s not the 1st man’s he’s been with. He clearly likes the taste of pre-cum, has a well used hole and fucks back when getting fuck, as for the rest their in denial.
Brendan
Even though Ben Hobson kinda makes me angry, his story ending this way makes me sad. Even though his videos showed that his ex-wife and him were in an awkward place, they were still working as adults to co-parent their kids and I liked that. It was nice to see a guy be honest and realize that just because he’s gay, it doesn’t mean he can’t be a good dad. Of course, now he’s saying that he was never gay and that it was booze and mental illness so the whole thing is just a mess, but it had the potential to be something so much better.
andy0529
@ppp111: I knew this was coming when the press bashed his scientist girl as fugly….I don’t think he is either, Just pretty!
andy0529
@tricky ricky: I worked in a Gay health clinic for 10 yrs and I have a way to big porn collection….that ass was too well used, he fucked back while getting fucked and seem how to suck a dick too well (the pre-cum tasting at the begining).
BrianOH
@Captain Obvious: Or maybe he really is bisexual, and was born with a craving for both penis and vagina. His family doesn’t KNOW that he’s gay, they are just making assumptions. If he says that he likes both men and women, who am I (or you, or his family) to say that he’s lying? I find it strange that his family seems supportive of him, but don’t want to believe him when he says he’s bisexual.
From the article, he’s only 22, and maybe he’s still figuring things out. People figure things out on their own timetable. It’s not like he’s not hurting anyone by saying he’s bisexual, so why do people want to force a label on him?
jwtraveler
@jason smeds: Whaaat?
seaguy
I get tired of the gay4pay guys using that “I don’t like labels” excuse. You’re either gay, straight, or bi period.
Who the hell joins Grindr “just to see who is around, just to chat”?
Saint Law
The fantasist behind the ‘jason smeds’ sock puppet loves opining on matters related to homosexuality because it gives the impression he is actually getting any. When he isn’t.
Unless you count the winos he pays to defecate in his mouth.
littletwin52000
@Saint Law: Oh damn!!!
I'm Black, and HIV-Positive.
“Aaron Rodgers added that one of the downsides to stardom is “crazy rumors that swirl around you from time to time,” adding that the whole gay rumor thing was part of the “uncool” side of celebrity.”
Eddie Murphy said the same thing in interview with Arsenio Hall back in the day. He said (and I’m paraphrasing), “You know when you’re a celebrity, because all the tabloids say that you’re gay. Ha ha ha!” Then he got caught taking a man dressed as a woman home in his car after picking up this stranger on the street.
I'm Black, and HIV-Positive.
@jason smeds: You only make sense when you bash women idiot. When you talk about gay this, and gay that — you seriously end up putting your foot in your mouth. Now you’re saying you’re bisexual? And I read before where you said gay was just a brand. And now you’re saying gay inherently means bent, because heterosexuality has already claimed straight. But do you realize how stupid you are for saying that? Because you then just also theorized that ANY other term you would then use thereof would mean bent by virtue of straight already being taken, so gay as a word is not, and cannot be the problem!!! Furthermore, if there’s gay, straight, and bisexual then bisexual means bent too!!! Got it? That’s why it’s necessary to take the language back. Maybe you just can’t swing it. Or how we call ourselves as a people “straighter”? It’s just a word isn’t it?
@Saint Law: But then you really don’t have a point to make anymore insisting that all the people that hate you must be the same person bitch! Nice postulation. Like your well-liked by anyone, besides that dead corpse you got stashed away in your closet. Ha ha ha! Paranoid much fffaaaggg?!
I'm Black, and HIV-Positive.
@jason smeds: I want to take the time to apologize for coming down so hard on Jason Smeds. I apologize Jason! In reading that post that I wrote to you only a day later in retrospect I do believe that I was being harsh on you.
Assholes like Saint Law, and his merry band of jealous Queerty bullies have been pressuring me, (and the rest of us here in the Queerty gay community for that matter) to assert ourselves apart from you. That’s no excuse for my behavior, but their bullying is the real issue here I do believe, and should be addressed directly as such. Again, I apologize to Jason Smeds!!!
Doughosier
There was a politician in the 80’s who got caught with a hustler and claimed he was “doing research”. Eddie Murphy picked up a drag queen hooker on Santa Monica Blvd, where the drag queen hookers hang out, in the wee small hours and claimed he thought he was just giving a damsel in distress a ride.