Then yesterday I ran across a couple of other sources where his tone was along the lines of "that's wrong and disgusting! Blecch!" rather than "that doesn't appeal to me."

His defense seems to boil down to "some of my best friends are gay" and denying that anyone reasonable could be offended by any of his comments. Not filling me with confidence that he has any sensitivity to or understanding of what's at issue.

I'm witholding final judgement til I hear his own words rather than get them transcribed in print by a third party filter, but the snippets I've seen quoted and the universally negative reaction from people who have seen the commentary doesn't leave me much hope.

I mean, he does have a right to express a disapproving opinion, but people also have a right to base their reactions to him on it. And it strikes me as particularly unctuous to hear that kind of thing from an actor whose bread and butter up to this point has been playing gay roles.

Eh, even if it's all "personal taste" it still screams "Nope, I'm not gay. See, SOOOOOO not gay. Couldn't be more hetero if I tried, nosiree." Which is such a far cry from Ewan MacGregor talking about what a good snog Christian Bale was (or vice versa - I can't remember).

And here I am thinking I'm completely unimpressed by both the character and the actor. So, not changing my opinion in the least.

Eh, even if it's all "personal taste" it still screams "Nope, I'm not gay. See, SOOOOOO not gay. Couldn't be more hetero if I tried, nosiree."

Right, otherwise known as the Kerr Smith defense. "I'm not gay, I just play gay characters oh-so-reluctantly." It's like dude, no one cares if you actually are gay or not, as long as you're not homophobic.

ETA - Also, methinks he doth protest too much.

BTW, there is a teeny spoiler for Lost in the entry right above the April 16th one. Ima discuss it in Spoilage Lite.

There's a fun, non-spoilery article on Dom Monaghan in today's USA Today, mostly concentrating on his popularity and the fact that his flashback ep has drawn the highest ratings for the show so far.

That makes me wonder if it's general synergy I have to thank for tripling the normal audience of shows I watch, or an influx of vast hordes of LotR fans. Either way, not looking the gift (white) horse in the mouth.

In time my revulsion will fade and I'll be able to view the film for what it is. I pretty flawless piece of film making.

I saw the movie. I totally can't trust someone who would see it and make that judgement, because it's incomprehensibly dreadful.

And to me, his comments read more like "it's yucky for men to kiss other men" than "Men who kiss other men are immoral and wrong." The first is still a homophobic position, but not an especially unusual one. (I think basically every guy I went to high school with would say that.) So he just comes off as an ordinary bigot to me, which bugs, but not to the point where I want to start a boycott or whatever.

And here I am thinking I'm completely unimpressed by both the character and the actor. So, not changing my opinion in the least.

Let 'em be monster bait I say. I wouldn't miss the character at all.

Well, I still like the character, but yeah, my respect for the actor has taken a dive. Especially because, as Matt notes, he's played several gay/bisexual characters--nearly all his notable roles to date, with the assumed exception of Boone--and was also in a piece about Matthew Sheperd. I'd hope he'd be a little more enlightened than his comments have shown him to be.