Andrew Garfield Says He's Gay, And That's A Dangerous Problem

Following a string of queerbait stunts, the Angels in America star recently referred to himself as gay "without the physical act"

Helen Maybanks / Via gaytimes.co.uk

Andrew Garfield is the latest addition to the celebrity bucket of queerbait chum.

The Angels in America star received critical praise for his performance as Prior Walter in the National Theatre revival of the Tony Kushner play, set in New York City during the Reagan-era AIDS crisis.

But in a recent platform discussion of his role Garfield remarked, "As far as I know, I am not a gay man." He later mentioned his love for RuPaul's Drag Race, saying "I am a gay man right now just without the physical act -- that's all."

Plenty of dangers come with a comment like Garfield's. It reinforces the harmful notion that homosexuality is merely a lifestyle -- a term favored by religious opponents who argue that homosexuality is treatable and reversible.

Garfield's remark also protects a platform for appropriators, giving them space to justify their actions. When queerbait becomes a marketing strategy to collect gay audience dollars, then "gay" and "queer" turn into trendy and disposable aesthetic ornaments. Soon folks like Bill Maher make guiltless use of the word "faggot" because "popular culture" has made it okay.

It's not okay.

Garfield's comments add to a handful of queerbait stunts earlier this year. At the 2017 Golden Globe Awards, Garfield snagged the internet spotlight when he kissed Ryan Reynolds, after both actors lost their category to Ryan Gosling.

That same week Garfield appeared on the The Late Show to promote his film Hacksaw Ridge, and to remind everyone how cool he is with the gay stuff. He proved his point by delivering another heavily-televised kiss with host Stephen Colbert.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert / Via entertainmenttonight.tumblr.com

Queerbaiting is not new. In 2011, James Franco tantalized the media when speculation about his sexuality arose from his tendency to take gay roles. Franco explained that he was interested in the "anti-normative lifestyles" of the characters, punctuating his response with "maybe I'm just gay."

By 2015, Franco had created an entire gay persona that he then placed into dialogue with his straight self. In the FourTwoNine magazine "interview," Straight James clarifies, "I’m gay in my art. Or, I should say, queer in my art."

This is a bullseye case of appropriation: Franco openly lays claim to gay cultures and histories without having to face their embedded threats. He even makes a clumsy attempt to scurry under the distinction of "queer," perhaps banking on a murky aesthetic boundary to keep fans guessing.

Let's say, for the sake for argument, that Franco's gay persona is valid. Did Gay James Franco donate money or blood after the Pulse nightclub shooting? Does Gay James support relief efforts for the gay people in Chechnya? And even if he does, how do we know that Gay James' actions aren't merely a ploy to bolster his artistic credibility?

New York Times Magazine, "Fourteen Actors Acting" / Via nytimes.com

To borrow a phrase from art critic Jerry Saltz, where is the "radical vulnerability" to these actors' claims?

For Garfield and Franco to call themselves gay while separating themselves from the act of intercourse, is to dishonor the gay people who faced political, violent, and fatal punishment for precisely that physical act. There are still countries in which violence comes swiftly to people brave enough to express gay physical affection.

Look. At the end of the day, the sexual identities of James Franco and Andrew Garfield are truly and deeply none of my business. And nobody enjoys being the privilege police; it's wearying work to be, as my stepdad calls it, the "shrill voice in the room."

However, it's just as wearying to have your identity culture commodified as thoughtlessly as an Urban Outfitters gift-bin item.

If the National Theatre is going to call Angels in America "the most important play to come out of the twentieth century," then there is no excuse for Garfield to be glib about his language, particularly when it directly affects a community whose members actually died for him to have this role.