What’s always the first clue that an up-and-coming TV star might be gay?
A) They submit to a splashy feature story in Out magazine, complete with a sexy layout,
and/or
B) They decline to discuss whether they’re gay or straight.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Sure, there have been plenty of Out stories that feature straight folks that are gay allies, but aren’t nine out of ten straight actors who make it big playing gay characters, when asked about their orientation, quick to admit that they’re not gay? (Case in point: We all knew from the beginning that Will & Grace‘s Eric McCormack was straight, but Sean Hayes remained tight-lipped about it for over a decade, annoying many of his fans — some of whom never forgave him.)
Jack Falahee, who plays sexy gay law student Connor Walsh on the hit show How to Get Away with Murder, has made quite a splash on the series, appearing in some oft-discussed, highly graphic man-on-man sex scenes (the sort that Billy Crystal doesn’t want to see too much of). As fans of the show, we love how comfortable his character is with his sexuality and how said sexuality is handled by the other characters — either as a non-issue or with a big thumbs up (when he seduces a sexy bad guy as a way of getting information).
Falahee, however, is evidently less comfortable. When asked straight-out by Out whether he’s gay or straight, his answer is slick:
I don’t think answering who I’m sleeping with accomplishes anything other than quenching the thirst of curiosity. And moreover, it seems reductive. It’s been really interesting to be in the middle of the industry’s fascination with the individual, because I never thought about that growing up or when I was at acting school. No matter how I answer, someone will say, “No, that’s not true.”
We get it: It’s your first big break as an actor and you’re afraid that coming out at this stage might fuck it up. But we also think the truth is more than likely revealed by your reluctance to discuss it.
And finding out this way saddens us.
This is not meant to be a condemnation of Falahee. In fact, we love him. We’re just think the Sean Hayes response is so two decades ago.
Later in the article, he says, “I really hope that — if not in my lifetime, my children’s lifetime — this won’t be a question, that we won’t need this.” Which is certainly a nice sentiment. But rather than wishing the question didn’t exist, we’d prefer it if the answer simply didn’t matter. Which it clearly does to Falahee.
But we’re getting there. Slowly.
Cam
“I don’t think answering who I’m sleeping with accomplishes anything other than quenching the thirst of curiosity. ”
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Ugh, I already don’t want to watch it now. Can OSHA please just investigate and lay down some massive fines on publicity agencies and move studios already?
Alan down in Florida
Should we infer from his mentioning his children’s lifetime that he is a breeder?
Jenny
Pretty sure he’s straight and just avoiding answering the question because he doesn’t want to alienate his gay fanbase.
MisterDemand
Or how about we just mind our own business…
gameplay21
“I don’t think answering who I’m sleeping with accomplishes anything other than quenching the thirst of curiosity.”
And yet he has 100k Twitter and Instagram followers and is willing to “quench” their thirst with a steady stream of tweets and pictures about what he’s eating, who he’s with, where he’s been etc etc.
I just don’t think you can live your life so publicly, invite people in, and then try to build a wall around certain aspects.
And as someone else has said, being authentic and honest about your sexuality might accomplish something if it inspires those who struggle with self-acceptance and other issues.
I do think he’s straight and is fueling the mystique for the sake of his profile. Not cool.
gameplay21
@Alan down in Florida: If you read the interview, I think it’s obvious he’s straight. He treats homosexuality like algebra or ancient history – goes down to the library and reads five books about it. There’s no personal experience there to draw on.
jjose712
@Jenny: That’s ridiculous. Cameron Monaghan said he is straight and didn’t alienate nobody.
People only get annoyed when the actor goes on saying he is straight every three sentences (and without being questioned about it) and that usually comes with the it’s so hard to kiss another bloke (and after that he expect people to say how brave he is for being such heterosexual and play a gay role)
Jack has the right to not answer the question, but going round in circles generally only fuel the rumours, because that’s the usual closet case answer to that kind of question (i know some straight actors did it too, but it’s not usual)
Actors are questioned about their private life always, it’s not only actors playing gay roles, because part of Hollywood culture has a lot to do with cult of personality. Couples sell more than individuals, and that’s the reason why there are so many fake couples (apart of hiding homosexualities of course). A magazine never will question a fake couple (even if they know it’s fake, even if they know both are gay and dating other people) as long as the couple sell magazines
jimontp
Can someone please help me understand this guy’s comments. “Don’t want to answer the question because…it seems reductive?” What the hell does that mean, it would reduce his potential income? The guy grew up, grew up and went to acting school, and “never thought about it.” Never, never had a high school football star bully him? Never had a “date” ask him about it when was in “acting school?” What a load of nonsense. If he’s straight and feels comfortable playing gay, great, you know Tom Hanks won an Oscar for that over 20 years ago, and if he’s gay and afraid it will hurt his career, there NPH and Matt Bomer giving him the perfect examples of how to live an OUT and successful career.
odawg
GAY
MarionPaige
Answering the gay question could have an effect on people voting for or against him for acting awards. Some could claim that if he’s gay he wasn’t so much acting as he was just being himself with his character on HTGAWM. This could have been Sean Hayes’ and Joel Grey’s positions as well.
I don’t know who dresses Falahee on HTGAWM but he doesn’t dress like a gay slut.
lauraspencer
He just lost me as a fan. It is 2015 and he is answering as if it is 1995!!
It is no big deal to say “I’m straight” or “I’m gay”.
jjose712
To be fari@MarionPaige: That’s absurd, there’s a lot of straight actors playing gay roles that are loved by the fans., and in america the most important awards are not voted by fans
And to be fair to him, actors are coming out in their 30’s unless you are a broadway actor. There are few exceptions, but generally that’s the rule, coming out when you have a nice career behind you and you proved you are a good actor.
I don’t think he is playing the mysterious card, that would be a mistake, because that’s the typical thing that comes to bite you in the ass. It’s not nice people thinking your marriage with a hot actress is a sham just because you played ambiguous at the beginning of your career.
If he wants to go in circles around the question it’s better to play it simple with i don’t answer that question because i want people to focus on the character (Gale Harold did that back in the beginning of Queer as folk, just to say he is straight some time after).
Try to give the elaborate answer Jack tries to explain only ends in utter nonsense.
It’s obvious he is not comfortable with the question, but he must be more comfortable with the gay rumours because in other case his answer would be different.
When an unknown actor plays a prominent gay role, the question appears sooner or later so he should be prepared for that
tdh1980
Generally speaking, straight celebrities, even the ones who like to keep their personal and professional lives separate from each other, aren’t this evasive with respect to matters of their sexuality itself. My problem with entertainers like Falahee is that in all other aspects of their private lives they tend to be more than forthcoming, which proves to me how disingenuous their reluctance to talk about their sexuality is in context. His choice to be closet if he is gay (which, in light of this interview, I now think he is) is his. I simply wish he’d cut the BS.
Merv
If he’s gay, it’s cowardly because he’s hiding who he is. If he’s straight, it’s courageous because it encourages people to assume he’s gay. Double standard?
ApolloDionysus
She used the word “reductive”, which he most likely learned from Madonna, so there you go. What’s obvious doesn’t need to asked, answered, denied or explained.
CCTR
There is the possibility that he is afraid of being type cast in the limited number of gay roles if he comes out as gay. Also the possibility that he and the producers of the show would get some slack for not casting a gay actor in the role if he comes out as straight. He simply could be trying to neutralize the idea of questioning one’s personal sexual orientation. He sums it up best with “No matter how I answer, someone will say, No, that’s not true.”
Kieran
How about it’s nobody’s fecking business until he decides to talk about the subject?
Paco
I don’t care if the actor is gay or not, his sex scenes have been hot (for network television). I do hope he is lobbying the producers and writers to give his character more depth, because so far, he has only been utilized for the shock value and not much more.
Captain Obvious
To be honest I just assumed he was gay and thought it was good that a gay actor finally gets to play a gay character on TGIT.
He pings and well… that face. Straight guys aren’t as convincing as they think they are at gay roles and gay guys as much as they like to think they are “straight acting”(severe eye roll) aren’t fooling too many gay men.
RealBlast3
@Captain Obvious: I agree Captain! I mean, his face during the passionate moments with the guy on the show doesn’t look like “acting” to me. He seems very gay acting in the sex scenes.
Captain Obvious
@RealBlast3: Exactly, and even in the fully clothed moments where he’s just dropping witty lines he’s too good at it. When straight guys try that they CANNOT pull it off. Only gay men can do this and it’s usually the most obvious tell.
Straight guys can’t give you those facial expressions, middle of the road lines that cross between feminine/masculine, and pull off interest in the guy across the hall all at the same time.
I know actors are acting, but that only goes so far. Unless some actors are working with a mental disorder that allows them to literally forget who they are and become someone else you can only work with what you’ve already got.
martinbakman
I get it that Hollywood is still a biased place, without much room for OUT actors. Whether he is straight or gay, he might see it as a no-win question and an irrelevant questions. Falahee seems on-the-money when claiming the question comes purely from curiosity. It isn’t like any of us will be dating him, so do we need to know? Why not focus on the character’s sexuality and not Falahee’s. <–Just one queen's opinion.
dhmonarch89
coward! So- if he’s not announcing who he’s sleeping with, he’s either celebate or forcing some poor person to lie and hide- what a tool bag!
enfilmigult
I don’t mind that he doesn’t want to talk about it I guess (just kind of disappointing) but he needs a better excuse, ha ha. The rest of the interview doesn’t contain the cure for cancer, curiosity about trivial stuff is basically all there is to it.
DarkZephyr
I don’t mind the fact that he doesn’t want to answer the question, its the reason he gave that makes me bristle.
Ladbrook
I don’t mind when entertainers choose to keep their private lives private, and in all honesty, I wish more of them would choose to do that (hello Ms Paltrow). That being said, I don’t think you can “selectively” isolate part of your personal life and not the other. I don’t care if he’s gay or straight, but if he’s going to be coy about his sexuality, he should be consistent and not discuss anything: politics, fashion, how big his house is, his high school prom date, religion, etc etc.
Refusing to discuss “who I’m sleeping with” while posting gym pics, dinner pics, new sofa pics, pet pics, or babbling on about a certain political candidate etc… just strikes me as trying to have it both ways.
Blackceo
@MisterDemand:
“Or how about we just mind our own business…”
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EXACTLY!!!!! He doesn’t have to confirm or deny anything and if somehow his being straight would translate into his losing some gay fans then that’s just stupid. It’s a character. Appreciate the role.
Mack
I don’t see why everyone is so down on his case. Whether he’s gay or straight is only important to him. If he’s comes out gay then he’s not “acting” in the eyes of the people who watch the show. And he will be forever cast as a gay person. By coming out straight he makes those of you who want him to be gay mad. He’s in a no win situation.
We have to accept that there are some who still have to hide in the closet. There are some who will always have to hide, it’s he nature of the beast. I don’t care one way or the other. If he’s not gay, then he is a good actor which is fine with me. I can still fantasize.
demented
I don’t think anyone famous should label themselves sexually, no matter what they like. They should only answer questions about who they’ve dated.
Doing otherwise just creates headaches and image problems, and puts you in boxes for your whole life bc it’s on public record then (just look at how angry people get when a guy declares that he won’t define his sexuality or attractions, or give himself a label).
He might be straight and not talking about it because he doesn’t want to undermine his role or put off gay guys watching.
He might be gay and not want to talk about it because he’s afraid he’ll lose roles.
He might be bi and know that harassment and disbelief awaits him if he says anything at all, since there’s a total of two famous out bisexual males in the acting biz.
jjose712
@Mack: That’s absurd. Being gay is not a monolite, he can be gay and have absolutely nothing in common with the character, and saying that if he is gay it won’t be acting for the people who watch the show is thinking people who watch the show are stupids. And i’m more than tired of people saying that if he say he is straight gays will be angry with him, that’s pure shit.
And the “if he’s not gay, then he is a good actor” is pure bullshit, he is a good actor no matter if he is gay or not.
Some people seem to buy the crap some straight actors sell about how brave they are for playing gay which is ridiculous beyond belief. The dificulty of playing a character rare times has nothing to be with the sexual orientation of the character and the actor.
For an actor kissing someone is not easier if he is atracted to the other actor/actress, it’s easier if he has good chemistry and a good relationship with him/her.
There’s a lot of real life couples that are unbelievable on screen because they lack that chemistry
I don’t think people had a bad reaction because his answer, people are more than used to actor who refuse to answer that question, people had a bad reaction because he went in circles claiming privacy to not ask but then he tells a lot of things that are part of his privacy.
He could come clear if he was honest and say he just doesn’t want to answer the question (there are multiple reasons to not do it, and some are even artistic like wanting people to concentrate in the character), because with the whole rationalization he came accross totally inconsistent.
And in an ideal world his sexual orientation won’t be nobody’s business (better, in an ideal world his sexuality won’t be a problem no matter if he is gay or straight) but he is in show business, and a big part of the show business is the public persona of the actor, and the relationships of the actor is what sells magazines and even it’s used to promote films.
He was playing a gay character and it’s a gay magazine so the question was totally relevant. Straight actors are questioned about their private relationships all the time.
It’s the actor who decide where is the limit, but being questioned about your sexual orientation is not the same that being questioned about who you are sleeping with
warmsun
I thought that in earlier interviews, it was stated that he was married (to a woman) and that she didn’t mind the gay scenes…
ghostwriter88
Chandler Massey
February 6 at 2:16am ·
It is not up to the media or the public to decide on the path an actor should take in revealing certain aspects about their life. Kudos JF.
Sounds like another actor who played gay thinks Jack is gay and possibly came out in the process? Having spoken to Chandler recently it does seem he is ready to finally come out if only Jack would do the same and not beat around the bush.
SteveDenver
The hottest guy I know didn’t spill the beans on his sexuality for years. When asked if he was gay or straight, he responded, “Yes.”
jjose712
@ghostwriter88: Curiously i think Chandler never was questioned about his sexual orientation. On daytime they usually don’t go there.
Chandler had an obvios PR problem at the time the gay storyline started on days of our life, and he seemed way more uncomfortable than Smith with all things gay back then.
He had two problems his publicist and being shy, but during a good while he avoid talk about the gay storyline or mention the actor who played his boyfriend.
I don’t know what happened but some time later he totally changed his mind and even was on gay pride parades.
But of course he is right, and actor (or any other person) should come out when he/she is ready and not when others decide, but it’s good to be prepared for the question and in my opinion Jack wasn’t
warmsun it’s pretty obvious that he didn’t say that in interviews, if that was the case nobody will be questioning him about his sexual orientation
Random
@ApolloDionysus: Hahahaha! I saw the word ‘reductive’ and also immediately thought of the Madonna reference, which means he MUST be gay! Haha!!
dhmonarch89
I love when people say, ‘it’s none of out business…’ Then what are you doing on a gay celeb gossip site? Is ANY of the the stuff printed here our business???
dhmonarch89
@dhmonarch89: crap- out business should be ‘our business’ at least the t&r are next to each other- honest typo 🙂
Clark35
Who is this guy and why should I even care about him?
MarionPaige
in re how actors are judged by their peers for awards (based on rather petty reasons) …
There is a lot of talk about Eddie Redmayne’s performance in Jupiter Ascending being so bad (in the trailer his mouth looks like a duck) that it might cost him the Oscar for “The Theory of Everything” . Like some claim Norbit cost Eddie Murphy an Oscar.
billforsyth
Why is it deemed so important to know the sexuality of every good looking young actor or entertainer .Would this curiosity be there if he was a squat fat balding guy .Is he homophobic ,is he one of those bizarre obsessed Christian types and before anyone accuses me of hypocrisy for reading a celeb gossip site my excuse is that I am an honest nosey parker .
Cam
@gameplay21: said… ““I don’t think answering who I’m sleeping with accomplishes anything other than quenching the thirst of curiosity.”
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Only somebody with a massive case of internalized homophobia would consider answering a question like this as equivalent to asking what you do in bed and with who.
90% of the publicity people like Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, or Adam Levine get is who they are dating. Funny how it isn’t so inappropriate unless the person being asked is gay isn’t it?
OzJosh
It’s amazing how many people still take actor’s comments seriously or personally. If an actor is contracted to a TV series or movie, then nothing they say is worthy of too much scrutiny. They will have had meetings with producers, publicists and managers to decide exactly how to project and position themselves. And if there are any issues of sexuality – either the actor’s or the character’s – then that will have been central to the discussion. A straight actor playing a gay character will be drilled in giving the kind of answers that will not alienate either a gay or straight audience. A gay actor playing a straight character will be advised on how to negotiate or deflect questions about his or her sexuality. A gay actor playing a gay character will have endless discussions about the pros and cons of coming out versus creating a degree of mystery for the sake of their future career. A young actor with little previous experience will get virtually no say in any of this, it will be what’s best for the character and the show. And they’ll be so grateful to have the role they’ll go along with it all. So dissecting this guy’s statements and making conclusions about his own sexuality is beyond pointless.
jason smeds
In a way, I’m glad he’s not identifying as either gay or straight. Keep people guessing – it’s a lot of fun.
In general, I can’t stand low-life queens who pontificate about what others should identify as. Here’s a clue: sometimes people don’t want to identify as anything. It’s their right to not identify.
The only time we should take umbrage is if someone is lying about their identity. But if somebody doesn’t wish to identify, that’s their right.
Desert Boy
@Clark35: He’s one of the breakout stars in Shonda Rhimes ABC series, ‘How to Get Away with Murder’.
Cam
@jason smeds:
What a shock, Jason supports the closet, and actors being pressured to stay in it.
Tebn
As gay man, I feel deeply offended by this attitude. What’s the problem…? I am not going to reject him because he is a straight man, gay people do not hate straight people, in fact the heterophobia does not exist.
Besides, I am not stupid and I know his gay scenes are fictional (it is not porn).
Finally, a celebrity has the right to preserve its privacy but talking about the sexuality should be a natural something and not a big deal.
man5996853
It saddens me when people feel that being labelled/labeling oneself a homosexual is “reductive”. Why do you necessarily have to be “more” than a homosexual? Can’t one be more than JUST gay without compartmentalizing this fairly significant aspect of ones being? His statement is what strikes me as reductive.
jason smeds
Some people don’t want to identify. And some people aren’t in a position to identify as gay or straight. Deal with it.
arnieca
much as i love Shonda, she told TR Knight on Greys Anatomy not to come out, and when he did anyway she downgraded his character to a supporting role and he ended up quitting. so that might factor in to Jack’s reticence, if he is in fact gay.
arnieca
nevermind, 1. TR Knight was playing a str8 role 2. i love Jack str8 or gay and respect his privacy 3: note to self: do not post stupid comments on queerty since they can’t be deleted.
Desert Boy
Ultimately, it’s really no ones business if Jack Falahee is gay or if he wants to ‘out’ himself.
As for comments he’s playing straight, that isn’t so. His character on HTGAWM is gay.
Cam
@jason smeds:
Yeah, you support the closet, you already said it multiple time.
KingKong
This article is pretty ridiculous. Honestly, Jack’s answer makes it pretty damn obvious to us gay folk that he’s one of us, but he says so in a way that’s not gonna keep him from getting roles. “But rather than wishing the question didn’t exist, we’d prefer it if the answer simply didn’t matter. Which it clearly does to Falahee.” Are you living in the real world? Am I the only one paying attention?? Gay actors still have a much harder time breaking out when they are openly gay. When fuckin’ Matt Bomer is one of your TWO examples of how a gay actor can be out and still succeed, I start to wonder if some of yal are being sarcastic… Newsflash, Matt Bomer’s career is hardly impressive, and he looks like a real life ken doll for God’s sake. Do you really think he wouldn’t be more famous if he stayed in the closet? Anyways, Queerty can “prefer” if the answer didn’t matter all it wants, but it’s not Falahee who has the problem, it’s Hollywood. And whether gay or straight, Falahee has a lot more balls than most actors by having his first significant role playing a gay guy with some of the most graphic gay sex scenes to ever be shown on network television. And who knows… Maybe by staying closeted (assuming he is gay) Falahee can get roles he wouldn’t otherwise get and become a star, and come out when it will have a much bigger impact than it would if he were to do so this early in his career.
tford216
Dude is straight or bi. Everybody that is straight already assumes he is gay. He would lose no ground by confirming it. He might alienate gay fans because his character borders on being unlikeable which would be totally fine if he was actually gay and would be seen as him playing up stereotypes if he was straight.
WhiteGold
Well if it interests anybody, my cousin went to drama school with him & had common friends. She is “pretty sure” he had a GF but is clear that he’s “a very nice guy, very cool & polite.”
To me, it isn’t as offensive that he isn’t willing to come out if he’s gay because HW is merciless- The people who hold up NPH & Matt Bomer as beacons of change , well- They got EXTREMELY lucky!!! Most don’t. Neither of the 2 are famous leading men either. Matt was infamously rejected as that god-awful character Christian Grey which makes me utterly mad till now but whatevah.
To me its much more offensive if he’s straight & playing the Titillation game which at this point, I just feel he is.
Personally, I think he’s straight or bisexual, but not gay but then again- I don’t know him so can’t say. Just saw this article & a lot of critical comments so thought will throw in what I know.
WhiteGold
@tford216: Yep, I think the same. A couple of years ago apparently he asked out a female YouTube celebrity + the rumours that he had a GF while he was on Twisted so he’s straight or bisexual.. Would surprise me a lot if he comes out as gay.
WhiteGold
@KingKong: This. Exactly this.
WhiteGold
@OzJosh: YEP. Bravo! As someone in PR, I’ve sat in on meetings. Jack must’ve been told exactly what to say, how to say it & when to say it. He’s been media trained. In any case, if he’s gay/bi/straight he isn’t going to be revealing it any time soon so there isn’t any point speculating what his sexual orientation is, no matter how tempting One finds it.