Konbini logo

Is It Ever Appropriate To Speculate About A Celebrity's Sexuality?

Any fan of Jane The Virgin know Gina Rodriguez has a robust social media
--
   Publicité

     I don't need anyone to define their sexuality to me nor do I feel
     the need to either. I love hearts. Period. https://t.co/DGR7PQT7oS
     — Gina Rodriguez (@HereIsGina) June 21, 2016
--
   It’s true that celebrities relinquish a certain level of privacy in
   exchange for fame, but that doesn’t mean they sacrifice all of it. They
   don’t have to answer questions about their sexuality — or any other
   question about their personal life — if they don’t want to (everyone is
   entitled to keep their personal lives personal), but more importantly:
--

   Let’s start with the obvious: It is never ok to “out” somebody or force
   them into disclosing their sexuality if they are uncomfortable doing
   so. If someone, even a celeb, doesn’t want to talk openly about their
   sexuality, that is 100% totally their choice.

   When it comes to LGBT people, the choice whether or not to disclose
--

   The media is still queasy (and just plain confused) about
   homosexuality, so asking a celebrity how they identify can be seen as
   invasive. The reason is because there is still a little lingering
   conception in the back of society's mind that there is something wrong
   with homosexuality.

   We seem to assume everyone is straight, as if it were the de-facto
   sexuality - the norm. If they happen to be gay, to some it’s as if it’s
   messing up the status quo. When a straight person gets asked whether or
   not they're gay a lot of the time they're taken aback by the question -
--
   During a press conference for Legend, a reporter from an LGBT
   publication did the unthinkable — he asked Tom Hardy if he found it
   difficult for celebrities to discuss their sexuality, obliquely
   referencing a 2008 interview in which Hardy said he had been intimate
   with men. Hardy shut down the reporter and snapped: "What on earth are
   you on about? I don't find it difficult for celebrities to talk about
   their sexuality. Are you asking about my sexuality? ... Why?"

   He swiftly moved on to other questions. The exchange was uncomfortable,
--

     “I’m under no obligation to share anything to do with my family, my
     children, my sexuality - that’s nobody’s business but my own. To be
     quite frank, it’s rude. If he’d have said that to me in the street,
     I’d have said the same thing back: ‘I’m sorry, who the fuck are
--
   and the LGBT community has been trying to fight this trope for
   decades. Openly straight Matt Damon also doesn't think actors should
   talk about their sexuality, but perhaps I'm going off on a tangent...

     As far as i know I get one life. I'm going to live it. No time for
--

   Asking someone if they’re gay isn’t necessarily offensive, but our
   obsession with celebrity sexuality comes from a societal obsession with
   labels and defining people. Celebrity worship lures us into a false
   sense of intimacy, and causes us to feel entitled to certain
--
   (via giphy)

   Ultimately, it’s not our place to speculate about anyone’s sexuality,
   nor is it our place to force a label them. While celebs may continue to
   field personal questions in their career—it comes with the job—that