The Walking Dead star Norman Reedus has called foul on reports that he objected to playing gay on TV.
While there has been much speculation about the sexual orientation of Reedus’s character, Daryl Dixon, nothing has been revealed on the show. But, says Reedus, that’s certainly not because he begged the producers not to go there with his character out of fear of tarnishing his hetero sex symbol status.
A request Inquisitr article quoted The Globe as saying that Celeb Dirty Laundry had reported that the actor feared “the same-sex shocker would hurt ratings by disappointing his legions of female fans.”
The actor took to Facebook and Twitter to deny the claim, linking to the piece and writing “This is total bs by the way.”
Of course it is. Reedus has already gone on record to say that he’s down with his character getting down with a dude, telling GQ that when executive producer Frank Darabont suggested making Daryl “prison gay,” Reedus answered “That’ll blow minds — let’s do that.”
For the record though, Walking Dead showrunner Scott Gimple says the subject of Daryl’s sexuality will not be addressed this season — which hopefully won’t cause too much disappointment for Reedus’s legion of gay male fans.
I'm Black, and HIV-Positive.
Umm. Correct me if I’m wrong, but “Prison Gay” is still very much in keeping with a man’s “hetero sex symbol status” as you stated it.
Alan down in Florida
I don’t watch the show but a “Prison Gay” story line would also be a very teachable moment about that subject. The gay rape of prisoners is something everybody knows about but is often referred to as a knee-jerk joke. To see a fan favorite like Norman Reedus being brutalized might bring the horror of prison rape home to people who might not give the subject a second thought.
Cam
Frankly I never understood where anybody in Hollywood thinks that somebody being gay would ruin straight women liking them. It would probably get him more fans. There seems to be nothing that a Straight woman wants to sleep with more than a gay guy.
stranded
He is sort of asexual in the show. He had a domineering brother so he has this inner turmoil quiet loner thing that can come off as possibly gay. His attachment to Carol is ambiguous. There’s a bond between them, and sometimes it reads as sexual but not really. Then there’s his attachment to Beth which is also ambiguous. The stark age difference and the fact that they didn’t have much of a relationship prior to the prison invasion made them a weird pairing last season but you saw how they got to know each other and develop a friendship. Again though it just doesn’t read as sexual. I would like his character to be gay and hopefully form an relationship. Everyone has had a relationship on the show except Daryl Michone and Carl, but Carl is a kid and in flashbacks we know Michone had a lover/husband.
AJAnders
Walking Dead is one of my favorite shows. I’ve watched it since the very beginning and I still look forward to watching it.
The show runners teased viewers during the long offseason with Darryl’s sexuality but I just don’t see them going the gay route with him. The character is insanely popular and female fans would lose their sh*t if he turned out to be gay. Compare it to all the fanboys across the country who threw up in their mouths when Andrew Garfield asked, “Why can’t Spider-Man be gay?”. It’s just easier to avoid the backlash.
I won’t mind Darryl not being gay but the show is long overdue for a gay male character. And if we ever get one, I really hope it’s not a situation where he’s introduced and then killed by walkers after the third commercial break. Also, he can have flaws like the rest of the characters but at least make him be able to defend himself. That’s all I ask.
Keebler ILF
@stranded:
We also found out the both Daryl and his brother Merle were abused
by their father.
I think the show is so good (I never thought a zombie SERIES would work)
that I don’t care either way if they introduce a MALE gay character.
They already had lesbian characters.
MarionPaige
I just think it’s funny that people actually think someone would fuck with the most popular show on tv by making the most popular character on that show gay? I guess anything is possible. I heard that since Felicity, there is a clause now in actor contracts that they can’t do radical changes to their hair. Actors can’t change their hair styles for fear of alienating fans but their characters can come out as gay?
MarionPaige
btw, in the comic (I think) two of the prisoners found at the prison were lovers. Also, the men Darryl was traveling with didn’t seem above gay sex
Ratronaut
Unless I’ve missed or forgotten something, there’s no reason Carl couldn’t be gay — might be an interesting angle. But I still really want to see Darryl and Rick make out, preferably shirtless.
Cam
@MarionPaige: said “MarionPaige MarionPaige
I just think it’s funny that people actually think someone would fuck with the most popular show on tv by making the most popular character on that show gay?”
__________________
Gee, what a shock, Marion is on here supporting the view that something gay is bad. At least you’re consistent.
As for the show making a change…..hmmmm, you mean like kiling off multiple main characters in the first two seasons? Having the wife die? Killing off Shane? Having the Prison destroyed etc… That show has done nothing but kill off main characters and change location so for you to pretend that the show wouldn’t change just to defend your view that “Gay is shameful and should be hidden” is just sad.
gauty
@stranded: I love the platonic, but very caring relationship between Carol and Daryl! I think it’s so cool that Carol has turned out to be such a fucking badass, and that the whole fandom has accepted her as equally cool as Daryl. She’s such an interesting female character. I hope they don’t become a couple, that would be such lazy writing. I think they’re so into each other because they understand each other surprisingly well and have similar coping mechanisms, they are kind of the genderswitched versions of each other, but written in such a way that it’s not reductive to either.
I actually do hope that Daryl turns out to be gay (and the idiots who are saying it’ll make female fans flip their shit obviously have a VERY narrow understanding of women’s psyches), or even bisexual! That, to me would be even cooler because then him and Carol not getting it on can’t stupidly be explained away by his sexuality, because their relationship is much too interesting and complex for that.
1EqualityUSA
and what kind of brain strings this sentence together? MarionPaige said, “Also, the men Darryl was traveling with didn’t seem above gay sex.” Above gay sex?
Daveliam
Two things:
1.) Can we just discuss the ridiculousness of the sentence that makes up the third paragraph? It’s LITERALLY reporting a fourth hand source……
2.) They have said that there will be a gay male character coming to the Walking Dead this season. They already have Tara, who’s a lesbian. By the end of this season, we should have a guy as well. Most people are speculating that it’s likely to be Aaron, from the comics.
Keebler ILF
In the first few episodes this season, some of the cannibals looked really cute.
I would’ve liked to see a couple of them making out.
Andrew James West
Chris Coy
ted72
I was always hoping he’d get together with Carol. 🙁
BigWoody
Seems to me that Darryl looks at Carol as an understanding mother figure. A mother he never had who lived through the same family dysfunction.
RyanC
Just to clear up the confusion over the term “prison gay”, they mean how a gay person might disguise their sexuality in prison to avoid negative responses, rather than people that “go gay” while they’re in prison.
MarionPaige
Do you people read anything at all about The Walking Dead Production? The fired show runner (there have been two) said that AMC executives were so greedy for money from the show that they (the executives) actually suggested that there be fewer shots of zombies to save money on makeup. The same former show runner said that incentive money paid by The State of Georgia for The Walking Dead being shot in Georgia was taken by AMC instead of it going to the production. That show runner is suing the production claiming that he was cheated out of his cut of royalties from the show. IT IS IN THIS CONTEXT that it is hilarious that “allegedly” greedy executives would even allow hints that Darryl could be gay to circulate – it is not as if “gay” is some huge demographic that can increase the revenue of the show. I mean look at what “gay” has done for all of those gay tv networks
scotshot
@MarionPaige: Honey you have no context. I know it’s upsetting, but your demographic has been rapidly shrinking. Thanks for all the laughs and turn out the light when you leave.
MarionPaige
I think the “death blow” to “GAY” being some kind of new highly profitable / billion dollar market was when Jason Goldberg (flushed with millions in investor money) flipped (or pivoted) fab.com from a gay social network to an e-commerce site.
What do I know though … maybe AMC’s executives drank the Out koolaide like dumbass Michael Sam.
Captain Obvious
@MarionPaige: Cyrus Bean is one of the most popular characters on prime time television and fans felt for him when his on screen husband was murdered. Huck is also one of the most popular characters on prime time television, played by an openly gay actor. Keep hating yourself, but do it silently. No need to post about it.
Adults should be able to handle gay characters and gay actors. If they can’t then too bad for them, the world will keep spinning without them.