Newsweek Writer Gets Called Out for Saying Gay Actors Can't Act Straight

When Ramin Setoodeh wrote in an April 26 article in Newsweek that gay actors don't seem to do as good a job playing straight roles as straight actors do when playing gay, reader commentary was overwhelmingly negative. Comments ranged from calling the piece "vile" to "dumb," with the occasional accusation of homophobia thrown in.

The article took Sean Hayes' turn on stage as Chuck, a straight guy in the play Promises, Promises. Noting that Hayes had played "the queeny Jack on Will & Grace," Setoodeh wrote, "Hayes is among Hollywood's best verbal slapstickers, but his sexual orientation is part of who he is, and also part of his charm. (The fact that he only came out of the closet just before Promises was another one of those Ricky Martin-duh moments.) But frankly, it's weird seeing Hayes play straight. He comes off as wooden and insincere, like he's trying to hide something, which of course he is."

Added Setoodeh, "Even the play's most hilarious scene, when Chuck tries to pick up a drunk woman at a bar, devolves into unintentional camp. Is it funny because of all the '60s-era one-liners, or because the woman is so drunk (and clueless) that she agrees to go home with a guy we all know is gay?"

Among the tsunami of commentary the article generated was a missive from Hayes' co-star, Kristin Chenoweth, who plays Chuck's love interest. Chenoweth wrote in to say, "Give me a break! We're actors first, whether we're playing prostitutes, baseball players, or the Lion King.

"Audiences come to theater to go on a journey," Chenoweth continued. "It's a character and it's called acting, and I'd put Hayes and his brilliance up there with some of the greatest actors period.

"Lastly, as someone who's been proudly advocating for equal rights and supporting GLBT causes for as long as I can remember, I know how much it means to young people struggling with their sexuality to see out & proud actors like Sean Hayes, Jonathan Groff, Neil Patrick Harris and Cynthia Nixon succeeding in their work without having to keep their sexuality a secret. No one needs to see a bigoted, factually inaccurate article that tells people who deviate from heterosexual norms that they can't be open about who they are and still achieve their dreams." Continued Chenoweth, "I am told on good authority that Mr. Setoodeh is a gay man himself and I would hope, as the author of this article, he would at least understand that. I encourage Newsweek to embrace stories which promote acceptance, love, unity and singing and dancing for all!"

Not everyone who saw Promises, Promises felt that Hayes was unable to pull of the part of a straight man. EDGE reviewer and Editor-in-Chief Steve Weinstein fashioned his review of the play as a letter to Hayes, in which Weinstein told the actor that in the new production, "you're in nearly every scene. And you deliver. Boy, do you deliver."

But the controversial Newsweek item did dovetail with something another EDGE contributor noted: Matthew E . Pilecki noted in an April 26 story that gay actors in Hollywood tend to stay in the closet even now--and, as in at least one purported case, they might go so far as to shuffle back into the closet once their careers start to take off, even if they started off openly gay before they hit the big time. The article noted that British actor Rupert Everett blamed his being out as a reason why his Hollywood career failed to flourish.

That might be changing in fits and starts, however. The same article noted success stories like Ellen DeGeneres, Neil Patrick Harris, and Gerald McCullouch, as well as the recent coming out of Ricky Martin.