James Blunt, best known for his 2003 hit You’re Beautiful (apologies if it’ll be stuck in your head the rest of the day), but, you know, for other songs also we’re sure, has revealed in an interview with BBC that he takes being called gay as a compliment.
For the record, he isn’t — but as a sensitive singer-songwriter type, it’s come up more than a few times during his career in the public sphere.
“I sing songs that aren’t very macho,” he said, “and people will say oh, you know, that you’re ‘effeminate’ or ‘gay’ as if calling me gay would be an insult. But to call me gay is a compliment and I would like to be considered an honorary gay man because I’m totally at ease with myself.”
“Also, if I’d been macho, I’d just have had an audience full of men,” he added.
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Charlie Daniel Robbins
Uhm what does that mean? He’s gay or what? I’m confused?
Ken French
Yeah he’s kensey 6 gay
Gartholomew Nichols
This sounds like the title of an Onion article lol
Xue Ma
Are we supposed to be shocked?
Miguel Topete
Why is this even news??? Also so what if he considered himself an honorary gay?? I get his point is to take the insult and turn it on its head but that doesn’t make him gay. He will never understand what real gay people go through. The support helps but making stupid ass comments like this doesn’t.
joeyty
“Beautiful Dawn” is a great song, and seems so suited to that (high) voice. (I bet Frankie Valli was criticized for that at one time too).
joeyty
@joeyty: (aka “High”)
Thom Solo
The breeders can have him back.
Michael John Taylor
He can get back into the ‘honorary closet’!
Sebastian Holiday
Translation: ‘happy to be on the gay-friendly bandwagon, but please don’t stop buying my music because I’m still, you know, straight.’ Know what? If he’s straight, that’s good enough. Come in, if you’re not going to come out.
Max Mcdermott
Awfully negative everyone.
John Flannery
Umm no. Such bullshit. You don’t get to be an “honorary” member of an oppressed community. You get to be a supportive ally. The kicker is he doesn’t even get how insulting this truly is. Puke.
Michael Claypoole
What a wonderful person. Now I have to find his music and listen to it.
Eóin Gille Moire
No thanks, straight people can keep him
Frank Sokolowski
Steven Douglas Aron
You don’t declare yourself “honorary” anything. It is bestowed upon you. That being said, thanks for the, er, support.
Bob Ashworth
Love him.
Gary Franklyn Mosby
If he ain’t sucking dick, that in no way is a compliment. So he acts sissy like. There are all sorts of gays, and he just like double labled us. Am I making any sense? I’m a little hot over this.
KerryB
PLEASE, go back in… I WAS having a good day, until I heard his whiny voice on the radio.
Todd Hamilton
An Honorary Gay ? Does that mean he’ll suck an Imaginary Penis ?
Steve Russell
He’s at least bi-curious. Just because someone hasn’t had sex with another person of the same sex doesn’t mean they don’t think about it.
Luis H. Lopez
Oh James make another hit song were waiting, I am gay and like your hit your beautiful !!!
Peter Waldran
WTF? I blame this on Racheal Dolezal!
Billy Hall
Billy Hall
Who is he anyway? Reminds me of an unwashed Grobin.
joeyty
Blunt makes a pro-gay statement in return to people calling him “gay” as an insult, and look how many posts here are putting HIM down. Why am I surprised? When the gay community basically made jokes in between doing high kicks of joy about firemen dying on 9-11, I still haven’t learned to expect the…..well, not the best…from this “community”.
Glenn Dunks
“He’s not gay, he’s just British.”
Kendrick Jason
In that case I’m an Honorary lesbian! ð??
DuMaurier
Just about everyone commenting here seems to have a pre-New Year’s hangover-grumpy-thing going on.
Michiel Naude
What exactly does that mean?
Captain Obvious
I didn’t know you could make yourself “honorary gay” and decide you’re our savior or something. It really belittles actual gay people to do something like this. You can’t be honorary anything you aren’t. There are no honorary titles for something that makes up a person.
joeyty
@Michiel Naude: It means people have tried to insult Blunt by calling him gay becaue of his high voice. And Blunt responded by saying he admires gays so he doesn’t take it as an insult. It’s like when people are mistakenly called a “Jew” as a putdown and they respond by saying, “I’m not Jewish, but…so what if I was ? Einstein. Jonas Salk.”
Bruno Freitas
Hate that dude.
M J Martinez Crogan
Is that cause Nate green is now a straight country songstress? #bitchUhomo
Rosalynn D'Angela
hahahaha, oky i can see that.
William Mc Gregor
Negative Nancy’s everywhere!
Guy068
Blunt’s gonna regret this. Social justice warriors online will eat it up but you don’t get to declare you’re honorary anything. Intentionally or not, he’s; trying to appropriate what appears on the surface to be a societal change to being pro-gay. Those of us who have literally suffered don’t normally appreciate that, a fact I think the negative opinions here bear out. He can be a gay ally (and a so far completely ineffective one) but being unfazed by being insulted for being not traditionally masculine doesn’t mean shit. When he genuinely sacrifices or does a Miley (her actions to try to protect at risk queer teens make her the true musician who’s honorary gay) we’ll talk but now? Application denied…
joeyty
@Guy068: Uh…people called him “gay” and he basically said “That’s a good thing.” I doubt there was more to it than that. He’ll find out now how evil most gays are.
joeyty
@Guy068: BTW : I would have chosen Honorary Gay by talent, so it’s certainly Blunt over something like a Miley.
Dave Barnes
#nogoaway
Dave Barnes
No
joeyty
@Dave Barnes: With THAT face, you’re telling somebody ELSE to go away ?
Ringo Le
Who cares?
Glücklich
Oh good. Now I’ve got that snippet of ear maggot song stuck in my head.
James Blunt and that FUCK-AWFUL John Mayer “BADdy’s a Wonderland” are *just* the things I need to push me over the edge to finally slit my wrists.
Max Maxwell
Be nice if he was more than just ”honorary”.
moldisdelicious
Still haven’t forgiven for that trash he put out 10 years ago “you’re beautiful”. Ad the nerve to put out that wack video that had nothing to do with the song. He can strip out his clothes all he wants. It’s not gonna change the fact that he can’t sing for shit.
Glücklich
@moldisdelicious:
Looking for rusty razor blade….
Filling the tub with hot water…
Alan down in Florida
Give me twenty minutes and I’ll change him from honorary gay to actually gay.
paul dorian lord fredine
@moldisdelicious: and when was the last time you had a hit single? i’m sure he’ll be just devastated you don’t like his singing abilities. how will he ever go on? i mean, certainly, someone who uses the screen name ‘mold is delicious’ is definitely the true arbiter of what is and isn’t good in the world of music. actually much more appropriate for a cheese taster. if that were the case we just might bow to you. other than that, may i paraphrase monty python….’i fart in your general direction’.
glennmcbride
Such negative comments!! His support may be somewhat clumsy, but he is declaring himself an ally. I will take that over homophobe any day.
Avery Alvarez
I don’t see a problem with the comment.
Someone in the comments above mentioned SJWs – I hope this annoys them. Nothing is funnier than watching them have a aneurysm because you didn’t use one of their buzzwords correctly. I love when they do those videos “10 things not to say to a —— person. They let you exactly what to say to troll and anger those clowns till they go away.
Masc Pride
I’m sure he wouldn’t mind taking some c0ck up his newly honorary butthole. Celebs that release statements like this always seem like they view gays as victims who need rescuing. Even if they mean well, it can come across as a bit insulting and opportunistic.
@glennmcbride: Why do you need allies? You’re a grown up. Fight your own battles.
joeyty
@Masc Pride: Allies (a dramatic word, but all it means is: people who are cool about gays), are certainly needed, as heterosexuals are the majority. So…even though I can fight my own battles, I’m glad for allies. It makes life better, to be living in the U.S. or Canada or France rather than Saudi Arabia.(I want allies, but not “saviors”, like that dopey Henry Rollins).
moldisdelicious
@paul dorian lord fredine:
Wtf are you talking about? I can like and dislike whatever I fucking please without you trying to basically say that I MUST like him because you do. If you’re basically one of those simple minded folks that follows whatever other people do where you are ready to ridicule the next person who chooses to do their own thing, then you lost already. I don’t like his music, never did, never will. I don’t give a fuck how good or bad he looks, whether he supports gay people getting civil rights or whatever. I like how some of you gay guys are quick to bow your head to these straight dudes begging for their acceptance but all of a sudden, have a backbone when it comes to approaching other gay people. Stop that cowardly shit. Not all gay people are weak like you so stop projecting your inferiority complex onto others.
Anthony Tubbs
“Other songs too”
Masc Pride
@joeyty: You’re basically just describing decent people. I’ve never heard Muslims, blacks, women, immigrants, etc. describe people who aren’t bigots as “allies”. Only the gays. Do these so-called “allies” deserve a pat on the back for not being bigots? Sure seems like they expect one whenever they release their statements. It just seems so silly (and quite desperate) to claim someone as an ally simply because they’re not doing what they shouldn’t be doing anyway.
CooperGuy07
I am never one to call out someone for being a bit suspect in their admission or denial of sexual identity, but on this one I call “hmm”. I am a fan of JB, regardless of which team he allegedly plays for, but after watching him on the X Factor Australia all season, my gaydar was pinging in the “Oh yeah, he’s gay”sector. It’s okay if he wants to just be an honorary team member, but really in the time of openly gay rugby and mega pop stars, it’s almost insulting to say you’re a sudo gay.
SteveDenver
He had a nice hit song, but he is god-awful BORING.
Aaron Doyle
Sorry, not accepting new members at this time.
joeyty
@Masc Pride: I hear you.
joeyty
@Aaron Doyle: I’d gladly accept new members if it meant we could exchange them for some we’re stuck with.
Nixter
@SteveDenver: His first album, BACK TO BEDLAM, was fantastic.