A-Team's New Mr. T Says Acting is Gay
In a recent online interview with the Los Angeles Times, former UFC Champion and A-Team star Quinton “Rampage” Jackson is quoted as saying, “Acting is kind of gay.”
Jackson takes on the iconic Mr. T role as B.A. Baracus in the upcoming movie adaptation of The A Team. "It [acting] makes you soft. You got all these people combing your hair and putting a coat over your shoulders when you're cold. I don't want a coat over my shoulders! I'm a tough-ass mo**erf**ker.” The article also ran in The Los Angeles Times’ Sunday print edition.
Former UFC Champion and Actor Quinton Jackson
Equating gay with soft is an antiquated stereotype. In an era where gay servicemen risk their lives daily, Jackson’s implication that being gay means you can’t be tough is particularly harmful. His comments serve to uphold sweeping generalizations about gay men and about the representation of masculinity.
Later in the interview, Jackson commented on the city of Vancouver, where The A-Team was filmed. "Vancouver strikes me as a San Francisco-kind of place," he says. "And I don't want mo**erf**kers getting ideas about me. I feel in my heart I'm the toughest mo**erf**ker on the planet. And I don't want nothing changing my train of thought. If you don't believe that when we step inside the octagon, it shows."
Jackson’s comments conflict with the statement UFC President Dana White previously issued. When asked if a UFC fighter could be open about his sexual orientation, White said, “I honestly think it would have no impact whatsoever, with not only our fighters, but our fan base," White said. “The guys in the UFC, everybody's so cool, there's great sportsmanship, everybody's so respectful. It wouldn't be a big deal to me, and most of the guys I know in this sport, it wouldn't be a big deal to them either.”
The A Team opens June 11th in theaters everywhere. GLAAD has reached out to Twentieth Century Fox about Jackson's defamatory comments. Please check back for updates or follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/glaad.
Comments
Wow you gays are all so sensitive.... lol How does Quinton's statement affect anything at all? He says something and everyone in America is going to change their views on gays and lesbians because of it? Most people already have an opinion on the subject and expressing his views is not going to change anybody's mind.... I would never have known he said that if GLAAD hadn't made such a big deal about it....
Hmm well add that to the list of movies I won't be watching.
I'll still be watching this movie, I met Rampage once he is honestly one of the nicest people I have ever met, you'd think he'd be "mean" because he looks so intimidating, but he's a real cool, funny guy.
I think people are just making to big a deal out of this, I don't think he meant it in that way, I say stuff like that all the time, like "OH THAT'S SO GAY!" I'm not homophobic or anything like that, I respect the gays, they're human beings just like me, it's nothing but a saying, but people can believe what they want to believe and be little drama queens about it.
Pages