Late yesterday a fake People Magazine cover hit the internet and was immediately re-tweeted to millions of people. The cover, which alleges that Taylor is gay and coming out to the magazine incorporates some other parts of a People Magazine cover from 2006. To me this is way worse than a death hoax because as Jon Bon Jovi showed last week it is pretty easy to prove you are not dead. How does someone prove they are not gay?
Oh that is a cruel joke, TO OUT SOMEONE THAT IS NOT READY TO BE OUTED: absolute bullying, that have through the years resulted in teenage suicide.
ReplyDeleteNot saying Tay-Tay will kill himself. Not saying I didn't smirk when I saw the title of this post. But then it hit me, the cruelty of the jest, and that Taylor Lautner is ONLY 19 years old. Whomever did this should be punished; we all know Talyor is gay, but so were TONS of actors and actresses before him for generations. And they have fronted bullshit "straight" relationship into our faces for decades, and have set the standard for today's acceptable star power.
How to prove you aren't gay? Are any of Bradley Cooper's ex-girlfriend available to date? That would prove it, right?
ReplyDeleteMy first reaction was: "Another 'outing?' Booooring..." And then it occurred to me: What if Ted C. is secretly a sociological genius, and he realized that if he spreads enough gay rumors around, everyone will stop giving a shit whether anyone is gay or straight, and everyone can just go about their business? Hmmm....
ReplyDeleteThis makes me mad. He's only 19 years old, this isn't fair. Can't undo this. He already came out and said "I'm not gay" and now there's this - hope it doesn't mess everything up for him.
ReplyDeleteIf they don't catch whoever did it he will just be the first in a long line of closeted celebs..
ReplyDeleteI feel badly for him, and can't help thinking this was done by someone he knows personally with an axe to grind. It's bitchy but I stop short of calling it bullying since there's no judgment associated with it.
ReplyDeleteThis is sad. For one-he is 19. At 19 a number of us barely had a clue to what we wanted or what we were doing.
ReplyDeleteTwo-Does it really matter who is gay? I mean really? Does it influence whether you will see the movie/show that the actor/actress is in?
Three-Forcing someone to come out when they are not ready is bullying. Plain and simple.
A lot of you guys already said what I wanted to say, especially @Rita.
ReplyDeleteyes, it is sad and cruel.
ReplyDeletei agree with every one
ReplyDeletei know someone who had been outed this year ( i always thought he was straight and i believed also he had an affair with a married female friend):his mum and dad don't more talk him,he has trouble in work (he's French policeman), he's in nervous break down now.In clear,he was not ready to be outed and even he wasn't interested by the outing
I'm pretty sure that the only one that knows Taylor's sexual preference is him, and anyone that he has been intimate with. Other than that, stating that you know, or that we ALL know is bs. Assuming someone is gay is as bad as accusing them, or outing them. Don't be part of the problem, be part of the solution.
ReplyDeleteThis is cruel. Out the shithead who did this. I'm serious.
ReplyDeleteComing out should be one's own decision/initiative/option. I am looking at this hoax, and it reminds me of high school, mean girlsy crap.
My older sister is gay. She is 49, but did not come out until she was about 35 or 36, a decision that took her about 10-20 years to arrive at.
I have no idea what Lautner likes to do in bed. And it is very heartening to see that fellow CDAN's are mature enough to not get overly bothered when someone does a "Yup, I'm Gay" cover of People
ReplyDeleteBut I recommend posters have quick little peek at the forums on Anne Coulter site. Here at CDAN we live and let live, and are normally polite to each other even if we have different opinions. If you pop on over to AC's forum and you will see how brave people are behind their online mask, and let me tell you, they are vicious. And god forbid you try to present a differing opinion because you will be banned. They just don't want to hear it
So if Lautner ever read posts like the ones I saw, I don't blame him for following the Hollhwood road.
It shouldn't even matter. Such a sad state we live in. I'm sorry for him if this hurt him.
ReplyDeleteWow Pomme..That is pretty sad about your friend. And truly sad that his mother and father now won't even talk to him.
ReplyDelete@Basil - Anne Coulter is a twat. There, I've said it. She gives the extreme right a good name. She is an awful, awful being, lacking any basic human decency. Getting worst with age too!
ReplyDeleteThis is horrible, not funny.
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ReplyDeletei have no clue if this kid is a good actor or not, but from all accts he's a good kid and a mighty decent one. idk who's idea of a joke this is, but it's cruel and petty. i hope TL is able to rise above it.
ReplyDeleteMoosefan, we had that conversation on here the other week - apparently it seems middle America is still in the Dark Ages about this subject and most felt it would have a negative impact on a male stars box office draw. I suspect the more liberal coastal U.S states would not be too bothered either way.
ReplyDeleteIt's very unfortunate this is the 21st Century for craps sake! When I read about this fake cover it smelt a little of Perez Hilton.
I guess the only way to "prove" you're not gay is to release a sex tape with a member of the opposite sex or have a baby or do something else that "verifies" your heterosexuality.
ReplyDeleteI hope that he finds strength in the people around him and within himself. Good Luck, Mr. Lautner.
Bullying is something that is done by kids in a playground. They're usually under 10 years old.
ReplyDeleteWhen this happens at this age, even 19, it is more like corporate psychopathy. This is Snakes in Suits stuff, Without Conscience. That's the people that do something like this.
It's just wrong. I'll just imagine what's going on at Ann Coulter's hate site, thank you Basil. I'm sure it's more than I can bear at holidays.
So sorry to hear about your friend pomme. Please let him know there are many good people out here in the world that support him and his decision.
Rita: Amen on AC. How people can even believe what she says I will never understand. And yes, Basil, we are pretty civil here, thank goodness. I am just amazed at how ugly people can be when their real identity is masked. It truly scares me.
ReplyDeleteHow mean. This poor kid, gay or not, doesn't deserve this bullshit.
ReplyDeleteThat is so mean. He seems like a good kid. Gay or not, I still like him and think he's absolutely adorable. Whoever did this is extremely jealous of him and his success. This will all eventually blow over, because it won't be on the newsstands.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a fan, but this is a cruel thing to do to a 19 year old.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, his sexual orientation (alleged or confirmed) won't have any affect whatsoever on whether I go see his movies. I won't be going to see any of his crap because he's a terrible, terrible actor. I mean just awful. I saw most of the first Twilight, I saw the diarrhea-fest that was Valentine's Day, and I saw a trailer for Abducted. That was all I needed to decide that I don't care for Taylor Lautner.
Outing somebody is never okay. Especially if the rumors about Lautner are true, he would be more asexual than homosexual. Wasn't he the blind about the young actor who wasn't at all into either sex?
It's a rotten thing to do. Having said that, if someone is being promoted as a "hunk" to teenage girls, which Lautner obviously is, and they are gay, I think it's a rotten thing to do to the girls. It's like the movie studios, record companies, etc., are saying, just keep buying the movie tickets, t-shirts and posters, and we'll keep pretending he's a guy who could fall in love with you. Many years ago I worked with a gal who was in love with Lance Bass. She had this dream that they would meet and fall in love, when Lance was gay. She went to another job before Lance confirmed he was gay, so I don't know how she handled the news. But I'm guessing she was crushed that she'd spent all that time, energy, and money on a gay guy.
ReplyDeleteWow. The response here makes me nauseous. Why is it so horrible and awful to say someone is gay? And such a cruel thing to so to a 19-year-old? Why should he even have to disprove whether he is gay or not? Because it's the worse thing imaginable? IDGI.
ReplyDeleteThe only wrong thing in this is that someone faked a news story and tried to pass it off as real.
Wow. Remember the good old days when you would razz someone by making a prank phone call and then hang up? Nowadays it's outing a person and a killing a rock star.
ReplyDeleteMame, Step back. No one thinks being gay is wrong or awful here. It's just a cruel thing to do to any teenager, who may not have even figured himself out yet.
ReplyDeleteIt's no different than mocking up a cover that either says he 'hates dogs' OR 'gives cash away to strangers'. This is something that will follow him forever, and strangers will be taking liberties with his privacy from now on. That's why it's awful, k?
Because being gay isn't awful and being accused as such should never be considered awful. It's not hating dogs, or doing drugs, or beating your partner. And he's a celebrity. Strangers are going to be taking liberties with his privacy ALWAYS. Not just from now on.
ReplyDeleteThis fake story isn't cruel. Just like if it was a fake story that he was dating someone he wasn't. Male or Female.
we all know Talyor is gay
ReplyDeleteWhat? How do we all know that he's gay? Can you read minds now? He's rumored to be gay. That's all.
At 19 a number of us barely had a clue to what we wanted or what we were doing.
It's just a cruel thing to do to any teenager, who may not have even figured himself out yet.
What the hell. Just as much as every heterosexual person knows from early on that they're heterosexual, a homosexual person knows that they're gay/lesbian, too. They might deny it to themselves, but they still know it.
I'm pretty sure that the only one that knows Taylor's sexual preference is him
Since when is being gay a preference?
Oh, Lord.
Mame, you chose to leave out that I gave you a POSITIVE attribute that could seriously interfere with his privacy as well.
ReplyDeleteMaking up such stories is MORE than just the loss of privacy he will have as a celebrity. A stupid lie like this could get him boycotted, or beaten up, or cause a girl not to go out with him. And he's too young for fake stories----And this WILL increase the chances of strangers thinking they can bother him, whether they love or hate him for possibly being gay.
PLEASE go to Ann Coulter's site or Faux News' if you want to find people to fight with on this issue. It's so easy, isn't it, to accuse people who DON'T AT ALL hate gays (or are gay) like myself & all the readers here? YOU are the first one here associating being gay with a negative. The rest of us are mostly middle-aged women who still remember what it's like to be bullied and have lies told about you. I left my hometown at 21 and have a fake name on facebook because I am STILL associated with middle and high school falsehoods given to me by bullies. And I'm still tired of having to deny them, 20 years later.
(As a matter of fact, my best friends in school were the other bullied kids. So I was lucky to have been close to so many gay kids [even if they didn't know it then, obviously] from the age of 6. If I'd been popular, I might be a narrow-minded fool like the bullies were.)
Seriously, go find the real haters & gay bashers. They are all over the internet, not here. You're really fishing with your silly accusations. If you really want to fight hate, we are NOT THE ONE. I've been here for years and have NEVER seen a negative comment about being gay from anyone.
Now go get 'em!
Mina, I could give you names of at least a dozen high school friends who had NOT figured themselves out until adulthood. Because sexuality is not black & white, it can take a LOOOOONG time for young people to even realize they are truly gay. I even have a few friends (male & female) who didn't accept this part of themselves until they were divorced with kids. Like I said, sexuality is a continuum, and from my life experience, it seems everybody is a 'little bit gay' (or straight). Until this century, you'd be hard pressed to find a gay person who had ALWAYS, from childhood, dated the same sex.
ReplyDeleteAll my friends tried to 'be normal,' because it's an easier life to be straight in a small town. They would cling to their 'little bit straight' and hope they could
eventually leave the gay behind. Not that it worked, but more often than not, my friends would try and try.
I live in a 'red' state, middle America though. Very religious and very confusing to grow up 'outside the average'. Trust me.
"I've never really addressed those rumors because I figured why defend yourself against something that is not offensive." Johnny Galecki
ReplyDeleteNot that's how to handle gay rumors with class.
libby, there's blatant homophobia (as those you listed) and there's subtle homophobia (what I'm seeing here). Imagine being a young adult on the verge of coming out and seeing comments like, "This (accusing someone of being gay) is so cruel! It's evil and mean!" Think about it...
Hi everybody, hope you had a great Christmas.
ReplyDeleteI am the only person I know who knew what their sexuality was from birth. I happen to be straight. My husband has told me that he thought he was gay because he didn't feel anything for girls and was in his teenage years, then his hormones kicked in and he knew he was straight. I didn't realise until I was in my 20's how fluid sexuality is for many people, and how late in their development it is when they have feelings that let them know who they are attracted to.
The cover to me is wrong on many levels: 1) A person's sexuality is their own business. No-one needs to come out. 2) If someone is going to come out they should have the right to do so at their own pace, in their own time, and in their own way. 3) Homophobia is so rampant, that something like this can put a person's life in danger. I have a dear friend who told me about her rape before she told me about a long-term relationship she had with a woman. If that doesn't put into perspective the vilification and discrimination that people go through, I don't know what will.
I love reading the comments and am very proud of CDaners for having intelligent discussion on a wide range of topics.
You are splitting hairs with the choice of words, dear. Please go fight the REAL hate. It's just not here.
ReplyDeleteAnd this is TMI, and i don't normally share this, but I didn't know I was STRAIGHT until I was an adult. Because of issues of childhood, I was so disinterested in men or sex with men that I assumed for years I was mostly gay. Most of my childhood. Then I found myself in my 20's, after the childhood memories had subsided. So I DO NOT believe that every gay (or straight) person automatically 'knows' everything about themselves from infancy. Because I lived it.
So if you turn that around and imagine a boy or girl growing up in a conservative town in a religious house---s/he really may not know. Really. Denial and the human mind are incredibly powerful.
I don't know if this is real hate, but no one has the right to out someone against his/her will. This is bullying, of the Perez Hilton "I will out you whether you like it or not" variety. It is not much better than homophobia because it is presuming to tell someone else how to live his life. He has live with the consequences of exposure, not those who would presume to expose him. It is his life.
ReplyDelete@Libby and Feraltart, well said!
ReplyDeleteNo 19 year-old kid should be under the obligation to have the weight of his personal life forced upon his shoulders so publicly like this, as a joke no less!
If it were Tom Cruise, well
1-you must have balls of brass to do this, for it is known he will sue the shit out of you. That's why I think the attack on Taylor is gutless, because he's a kid, and does not have the Cruise power behind him.
2- Cruise is a grown-ass man and can handle whatever life throws at him. Including something that could bluntly cut his career chances (re: Couch Jumping, and pron star gay accusations), unlike a 19 YEAR-OLD who's still at the dawn of his career
3- Speaking of career in Hollywood, history shows a clear dislike for all who came out publicly. None made it, with very few exceptions in Television and Theater. Homophobia is well and alive in LA, but a lack of empathy at the possible destruction of one so young, is disturbing to say the least.
And finally, having read all comments, it is clear you didn't properly read neither post or comment, but simply trudged through. For this Blog is often read because of the reader comments, who are heartwarming, open minded and respectful human beings.
And being gay or straight, Christian, Jewish, Buddhist or Atheist, American, French, Canadian or Iranian, it has nothing to do with prejudice, but everything to do with Basic Human Decency.
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ReplyDelete@Basil - I get what you're saying but no way am I going over to Coulter's site. I spent some time about a month ago reading a few of Andrew Brietbart's sewage infested sites and I'm not going back to that sludge ever again. At the end of it I felt like Mina Harker in "Bram Stoker's Dracula" crying "Unclean. Unclean."
ReplyDeleteOn a lighter note you can tell it's a fake cover because the word "People" is way to big - and also there isn't a Kardashian on it.
LOL @ Jason. So true about it being a fake Kneepads cover.
ReplyDeleteThis feels really dirty to me. Not only are they trying to 'out' the kid, but also undermine him with his largely female Twilight fanbase. He has millions of girls dying to date him, and many of them will follow his career for years to come. Taylor's in line to make a boatload of cash, regardless of what anyone thinks of his talent.
So it does beg to ask: is someone out to get the poor kid? Sure feels like it.
what is up with the Coulter bashing on a gay post? Coulter was on the advisory board of GOProud but resigned after they outed someone. She is considered a "gay icon" by, you know, gay conservatives. Yes, we exist. Don't judge a site by it's commenters, you all should know that first hand.
ReplyDeleteConservative = gay haters is just another liberal meme that the press and the interwebs want people to think.
"Conservative = gay haters is just another liberal meme that the press and the interwebs want people to think."
ReplyDeleteAre you fucking kidding me?! Yes, I am sure there are gay and gay-friendly conservatives, but the public agenda of the conservatives is full of hatred towards gays.
Mame, the "cruelty" doesn't come from the possibility of him being gay, but from the bigotry and hatred it's going to expose him to. Until more people are open-minded about it, being outed carries a whole lot of nasty baggage with it, and that's why it should be a person's own choice.
ReplyDeleteThis Faux Kneepads cover screams to me "One Scorned (ex)Lover's Revenge". I envision a couple of giggling young people behind this picture.
ReplyDeleteI'm not into outing people who aren't ready. We all pretty much know that Lautner is gay, but how cruel of a joke is this? My theory is that guys who come out will only be more popular, but as of yet, this has gone unproven in Hollywood.
ReplyDeleteMooshki, plenty of celebrities, teens and adults, have been accused of being gay for decades and they're doing just fine. No one is jumping out of bushes to attack them for being accused of being gay. In fact, just being a celebrity in general, with stalkers, is far, far more dangerous.
ReplyDeleteIf that's your concern, it's misplaced. And no one was outed here. Just like Jon Bon Jovi didn't die, there is no proof that Lautner is gay. So I can't help but consider what Mame had to say and think about why even I reacted that way.
"Are you fucking kidding me?! Yes, I am sure there are gay and gay-friendly conservatives, but the public agenda of the conservatives is full of hatred towards gays."
ReplyDeleteAre you trying to quote radical evangelicals who say that a marriage is between a man and a woman? Or people who don't believe in gays in the military?
No, the majority of conservatives just want to be left alone. And the majority of America supports gays in the military and gay marriage now.
So you saying the public agenda of conservatives is full hatred towards gays, is a flat out lie made up by yourself or posts you read on Huffpo.
People try to tell me to boycott Target or Chick Filet, and you know, they have the right to believe what they want. I am not offended of people of a religious background that say that marriage is bw a man and a woman. It doesn't mean they hate gays.
I always say, I'd rather be gay at a Tea Party than labeled conservative at a gay party. It's so funny how much more inclusive the conservatives are than the gays.
If he has already said he is not gay, and actually is not gay, then I don't see what the problem is. You're not gay. We believe you. Move on.
ReplyDeleteSo...who released this??
ReplyDelete