Andrew Scott: 'It's Time to Park' the Term 'Openly Gay'

Gay actor Andrew Scott says that it's time to get rid of the term "openly gay."

Speaking at a roundtable discussion for The Hollywood Reporter's "Off Script" series, Scott, 47, aired his feelings on the subject of how the media refers to out celebrities as "openly gay."

In a TikTok post of a snippet from the show, Scott can be heard holding forth as fellow roundtable participants Colman Domingo, Mark Ruffalo, Paul Giamatti, Robert Downey, Jr., and Jeffrey Wright look on.

"I'm going to make a pitch for getting rid of the expression 'openly gay,'" Scott announces in the clip.

"Yes!" came a chorus of agreement from the others at the table.

"Hear me out: It's an expression that we only ever hear in the media," the "Sherlock" actor went on to say, noting that "You are never at a party and you say, 'This is my openly gay friend Andrew.'"

The others laughed in hearty agreement.

"You never say it!" Scott continued. "Why do do we put 'openly' in front of that adjective? You know, we don't say you're 'openly Irish,' we don't say you're 'openly left-handed...'

"And it's just a little near 'shamelessly,'" Scott added. "You know what I'm saying?"

More laughter erupted around the table, with fellow out actor Colman Domingo saying, "You're right."

@hollywoodreporter #andrewscott pitches why everyone should stop saying "openly gay" during the #thrroundtable for actors | watch the full #offscript ♬ original sound - The Hollywood Reporter

"Sometimes I just feel like, if you've got to say it understand it, just say... or, you know what? Just don't say anything at all," Scott added.

"No, just say, 'This is Colman,' how about that?" Domingo suggested.

"Now I think it's just time to, to sort of, to sort of to park it," Scott said.

Scott, who has also enjoyed a breakout role on "Fleabag" as the so-called "Hot Priest," and who stars in the upcoming Netflix miniseries "Mr. Ripley" as the iconic character invented by lesbian novelist Patricia Highsmith, came out in 2013 – despite, the actor has said, having been advised earlier in his career to stay in the closet.

"I was encouraged, by people in the industry who I really admired and who had my best interests at heart," to stay in the closet, Scott told British GQ upon being named one of the magazine's Men of the Year for 2023. "I understand why they gave that advice," Scott went on to add, "but I'm glad I eventually ignored it."

What do you think? Is it time to ditch "openly gay," as Scott suggests?