Filmmaker and wit John Waters has elicited some gasps–something he’s made a career out of–with his latest comments. Referencing Oscar Wilde, Waters says that gay people don’t know how to whistle.
Waters made the comment in conversation with director Jim Jarmusch while promoting his latest book of essays, Mr. Know it All: The Tarnished Wisdom of a Filth Elder. Waters observed that in the early 20th century, society actually passed class judgments on people based on their ability to whistle a tune.
“There was a thing in the Oscar Wilde days that people believed that gay people couldn’t whistle,” Waters said. “And it’s true. Gay people can’t whistle. I’ve asked every gay person I know and they can’t.”
Related: John Waters on Kevin Spacey, Provincetown, petty theft, and his own biopic
“When I read it, I thought: I never heard that one before,” he continued. “You know what I mean? That’s how you can always tell. Ask a man whether he can whistle or not…I’m sure there are violations of that rule, but I just found that the most hilarious detail in the book that I really, really loved hearing.”
Over the course of the same conversation, Waters also lamented how culture has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s a great shock that the world has suddenly come to a standstill, because it’s hard to imagine people going into a crowded theatre to do anything,” Waters observed. He also noted how the pandemic has affected his sex life.
“When I started, people had sex with different people every single night of the week,” he said. “And now you need 12 lawyers to ask someone for a date.”
Mr. Know it All: The Tarnished Wisdom of a Filth Elder is now available in paperback.
Mister P
I bet Falwell can’t whistle.
jayceecook
Well now I have proof that I’m bisexual (though I identify as queer) because I can whistle many a good tune! Who needs all those studies confirming male bisexuality when you can just show folks by whistling Dixie!
dhmonarch89
Totally G-A-Y and I can’t whistle at all!
level75RDM
John Waters must know a lot of joyless people if they don’t know how to whistle.
Heywood Jablowme
I can whistle and I sure ain’t straight!
PolishBear
I have always had a great deal of respect for John Waters, so I’m dismayed that he would say something like this. I can whistle, I’m not particularly good at it, I don’t practice it, and I’m not in the habit of whistling a jaunty tune while out on a stroll. But I CAN whistle.
JessPH
I can’t whistle too. Always wanted to and even tried to learn but I simply cannot.
Gourmet Guy
I can whistle down the wind, and I’m gayer than laughter. But John Waters is God, so there.
bachy
It’s a good way to tell if someone is lying. Ask a gay guy to whistle. If he can do it, he’s faking his gayness.
Bubbleandsqueal
I can put my lips together. And blow. But I can’t whistle.
Troysky
Another celeb living in a dumb bubble. …..I whistle…& have fvcked a butch married guy w kids who can also whistle. Truth.
ScottOnEarth
John Waters was SO HOT when he was younger…..and he’s super-cool at any age.
inbama
You must mean Ethel Waters.
Fname Optional Lname
Ethel Merman?
PugsBuddy
My dad used to walk around whistling a ditty, that non-puckered, whistling thru your teeth kind of way. I wanted to slap him.
Yeah, I’m joyless, be sure to tell your friends.
indigojoe
My whistle may not be the best, but my pussies hear it and they come running.
Fname Optional Lname
I’ve never been able to whistle, I definitely walk fast (like they say we do) and I tend to sit in a chair all different like (which apparently is lgbtq related) so who knew, the signs were always there, well plus in kindergarten we had a life size walk in doll house that they could NOT keep me out of, I did not want to go to 1st grade when I saw how boring the classroom was!