Luke Evans Clarifies "Woke Gay" Comment After Backlash

Luke Evans is clarifying recent comments he made in a past interview after he was dragged online for saying that being gay does not automatically mean you must be politically progressive, as he weighed in on stereotypes about LGBTQ+ people and the debate over who should play gay roles.

via: Pink News

The out gay actor spoke with The Telegraph, who ran the interview under a similar headline, on 2 October.

In the interview, he said: “Just because you are gay yourself doesn’t mean you have to be woke,” adding: “Your sexuality is one part of who you are, but our opinions on society and life differ in every single person. I’ve got very woke gay friends and very unwoke gay friends. We don’t all agree on the same thing.”

Some ran with the headline and congratulated him for “common sense”, while others actually read the interview and understood his point.

He has now responded on his Instagram story, reinforcing his original point and making his stance clear.

The Beauty and the Beast star said he felt “parts of this interview have been paraphrased in ways that don’t accurately reflect what [he] said”.

He went on: “I absolutely consider myself woke. If that means being aware of injustice, caring about others and standing up for people whose rights are threatened, those are values I’ve held for decades.

“I’ve fought for my own community and stood alongside others who deserve protection and equality.”

Evans continued: “My point was that people sit at different places on that spectrum. We won’t always share the same views, and there should be room for conversation and understanding. That doesn’t diminish my commitment to those values.”

He finished: “I understand why people have reacted to the way this has been presented. But I’d like my position to be clear: my belief in equality, compassion and standing up against discrimination has never changed.”

Out actors in Hollywood

Elsewhere in the interview, Evans spoke of the pressures of being an out actor in Hollywood.

He said: “It wasn’t easy being the only one who was out for quite a long time, doing the level of movies I was doing. And I know of several actors in Hollywood [who chose not to be out].”

The Welsh star suggested the industry makes it difficult for some to be open, adding it “saddens” him.