Bret Easton Ellis: ‘Ludicrous’ to cast a gay actor like Matt Bomer in Fifty Shades of Grey
Bret Easton Ellis, the author of American Psycho, has said it would be ‘ludicrous’ to cast a gay actor to play the straight male lead in the film adaptation of the sexually-explicit Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy.
Rumours circulated that openly gay actor Matt Bomer, whose notability has risen after his performances in White Collar and as a stripper in the film Magic Mike, might play the lead character Christian Grey, a businessman with an interest in bondage.
Ellis, noted for his works detailing the amorality of some tranches of American life in the late twentieth century, had wanted to write the screenplay for the adaptation, but yesterday said he had “somehow been taken off” the short-list.
The writer, 48, does not identify himself as gay, straight or bisexual and has become known for controversial statements on his Twitter account in recent years.
Ellis has now condemned the idea of the gay actor playing a sexually-charged straight character as ‘ludicrous’, while insisting he is not discriminating on grounds of sexual orientation.
A series of tweets responding to rumours Bomer may be cast began today: “Okay. Let’s finalise this. Matt Bomer is totally hot and a very good actor. He is NOT right for Christian Grey and it complicates the role.
“Fifty Shades of Grey: Matt Bomer: I don’t care how good an actor you are but being married to another man complicates things for playing CG.
“Fifty Shades of Grey: Matt Bomer is NOT about discrimination. It’s about an intensely straight actor wanting absolutely to screw Ana Steele.”
He continued: “Fifty Shades of Grey: the most popular book on the planet having Matt Bomer–a gay actor–play Christian Grey is absolutely ludicrous. Why?
“Jesus, the homophobia over Matt Bomer not being Christian Grey is so unsettling and aesthetically retarded. He’s NOT right for Christian G.
“Okay I’ll say it. Matt Bomer isn’t right for Christian Grey because he is openly gay. He’s great for other roles but this is too big a game.
“And I think if Matt Bomer wants the role which I doubt the international press tour will be an embarrassing fiasco. He’s not CG. Never…
“I am NOT discriminating Matt Bomer because of his sexuality. Fifty Shades of Grey demands an actor that is genuinely into women. Get it?!?
“I actually think it’s cool that women want Matt Bomer as Christian Grey. It means that we’ve moved beyond stereotypes and that gay is hot…
“I think Matt Bomer is incredibly handsome and a good actor but I think he comes off totally gay in White Collar. And that is why no to CG…”
“Look, all actors are GAY: they put on make up and pretend to be someone else. That’s just a fact. Rock and roll. Deal with it. Scientology?
“Would anyone watch Brokeback Mountain if it stayed true to the original story where both characters are hideously ugly? No. Homo beauty WIN?
“Hollywood is the most homophobic place in the entire world.”
He concluded: “Why Brokeback Mountain was a hit was because it starred two beautiful actors instead of two real ugly characters from the story. Producers.”
In 2010, the writer tweeted about Dan Savage’s It Gets Better video campaign, in which messages are recorded to assure LGBT youth life improves as they grow out of adolescence, Ellis tweeted “Not to bum everyone out, but can we get a reality check here? It gets worse.”
