Jake Gyllenhaal does some back pedalling

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 5:42am

According to the news page on IMDb:

Actor Jake Gyllenhaal is flattered by rumors he is bi-sexual, even though he insists he is only attracted to women. Gyllenhaal, who plays a homosexual cowboy in new movie Brokeback Mountain alongside Heath Ledger, has never had a gay experience - but he isn't afraid of the possibility of having a sexual relationship with another man. He says, "You know it's flattering when there's a rumor that says I'm bisexual. It means I can play more kinds of roles. I'm open to whatever people want to call me. I've never really been attracted to men sexually, but I don't think I would be afraid of it if it happened.


Now, it's the last part that I am taking a tiny issue with. Didn't he, in interviews while pre production was going on, talk about how he had gone through a teenage phase of being attracted to men and had properly questioned his sexuality? That's not really the same thing as " I've never really been attracted to men sexually", now is it? At least he said he wouldn't be afraid of it, which is more than Ian Somerhalder ever did, but still something isn't quite right there.

Updated On: 11/22/05 at 05:42 AM

[zzannahk]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 5:53am

where is the quote from? was it print media?? it may be that they just quoted him wrong. or edited the quote to make it sound better and ended up changing the meaning.

[Plum]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 7:29am

Oh, poppy. I thought you knew better than to believe IMDB's news service. A word to the wise- if you see it comes from WENN, you can bet there's a good chance it's inaccurate, outdated, or made up from whole cloth.

[RobbO]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 8:11am

i agree with plum. let's not besmirch the name that is gyllenhaal.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 9:31am

Seriously, it must be a drag to be questioned by entertainment rags about your sexuality EVERY DAY.

[Plum]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 9:43am

You know what would be fun? If someone just stopped caring and exposed all the damn questioning for the idiocy it is.

"Are you straight?"

"Yes."

"Are you gay?"

"Sure, why not."

"Do you mess around with goats?"

"Only on holidays."


Or maybe I've just lost all patience with people's insatiable desire to know who celebrities prefer to screw. Updated On: 11/22/05 at 09:43 AM

[lildogs]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 9:48am

I don't think he's back pedaling at all. Leave him alone--why would you care anyway pop? I read the same info earlier this week and found him refreshingly candid. What's wrong with what he said?

[RobbO]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 9:49am

i can see your point. i can find women attractive but not be ATTRACTED to them sexually.

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 10:30am

It's far less candid than he has been in the past. It smacks of his PR people taking him to one side and giving him a talking to. I'm not about to go all art2 on your asses though, don't worry.

[lildogs]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 10:38am

That's good to hear pop...I just think it's silly to ask those kinds of questions. You wouldn't ask Dylan Baker if he really was a child molester when he did Happiness, would you? But the simple fact is, any homosexual revelations WOULD affect his career as sad as that is...I think he said quite a lot considering he's a young sex symbol.

[robbiej]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 10:53am

Ya know...you're right...nobody thinks to ask Baker if he likes to diddle little boys. Probably because it's so far out of the realm of possibility for most people. Which leads me to believe the whole same-sex thing, no matter how taboo people try to make it, is running through people's minds a whole lot more than they'll admit.

I used to work with this really cute straight guy who turned to me one day when we were discussing sexuality and such and said, 'Sometimes I masturbate thinking about guys.' No shame...it wasn't a come on. Just a bit of information about himself. I was SHOCKED someone would be so candid.

[touchmeinthemorning]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 10:55am

robbie,

are you sure that happened in real life and it wasn't part of "straight men, gay lives: volume 3"?

[robbiej]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 10:56am

Please...if it happened like that, I would have had a MUCH better time at work...dontcha think?

[RobbO]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 11:00am

i am fascinated by my coworkers unending thirst to determine people's sexuality. my "boss" even tries to get other people to find out people's sexuality and trick them into coming out to other coworkers. it seems to be a very "frat boy" mentality (no offense to fraternity members) to be so childish and immature.

the amount of time some of them spend thinking about it and talking about it, seems really unhealthy unnatural and unnerving. plus, it makes me question why they are so interested...

Updated On: 11/22/05 at 11:00 AM

[lildogs]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 11:02am

I've had a couple of straight guys disclose either gay experiences or fantasies...I mean, ALOT of gay guys used to date women, so it's no big deal, right? I think the less we make of Jake's sexuality, the less people will make of ours.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 11:33am

Slightly off-topic:

George Clooney startled some reporters at a press conference for “Syriana” by grabbing Matt Damon’s behind. “By the way, Matt Damon has a very nice ass,” Clooney told the journalists.
Jeannette Walls: ‘Syriana’ issues weighed on Clooney

[Dollypop]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 11:34am

When Jake finally meets me he'll be proud to say that he's now totally gay.

[lildogs]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 11:42am

Of course, he'll be Tab Hunter's age...

[BrendanStryker]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 11:46am

I've got something he can back pedal onto.

[RobbO]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 3:10pm

from TIME magazine (courtesy of towleroad.com):

(Heath) Ledger makes some comments that are very similar to the much-commented-on statements that Jake Gyllenhaal made in articles that appeared last week with regard to the approach to the characters of Ennis del Mar and Jack Twist:

Says Ledger: "I don't think Ennis could be labeled as gay. Without Jack Twist, I don't know that he ever would have come out. I think the whole point was that it was two souls that fell in love with each other."

This is perhaps a better articulation of what Jake was trying to say. While the Brokeback story and characters would undeniably be labeled as "gay" from our modern perspective, back then the labels weren't as prevalent.

Even now, Ledger offers, the labels of gay and straight, are too strict and marginalize people who may have attractions to both sexes:

"I don't think it's that black-and-white, and I think because we label it so harshly, there's just a lot of confused people running around thinking, Oh,
f___, which side am I on?"

In a recent article in Newsweek, Ledger explained why he feels some straight men get uncomfortable at the notion of a film about cowboys in love: "I suspect it's a fear that they are going to enjoy it. They don't understand that you are not going to become sexually attracted to men by recognizing the beauty of a love story between two men."

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 3:16pm

BISEXUALITY.

duh.

[RobbO]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 3:17pm

yeah, like THAT really exists.

[amasis]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 7:23pm

You know what would be fun? If someone just stopped caring and exposed all the damn questioning for the idiocy it is.

"Are you straight?"

"Yes."

"Are you gay?"

"Sure, why not."

"Do you mess around with goats?"

"Only on holidays."

--

Perfect, Plum.
Updated On: 11/22/05 at 07:23 PM

[spiderdj82]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 9:05pm

Amasis--Hey girl. I miss my Warlow obsessed buddy.

Plum--You crack me up. Even theough we disagree on most things you never cease to make me laugh.

[amasis]

Posted: 11/22/05 at 9:46pm

I miss you, too, DJ. I think we need to plan on having that Aussie trip soon. Swing by my part of the world, and we'll stalk him together.