Rupert Everett is advising gay celebrities to stay in the closet and hold the door closed tight. In an interview with the U.K.’s Guardian, the actor said coming out 20 years ago has cost him leading man roles and relegated him to supporting man.
“It’s not that advisable to be honest,” warned the 50-year-old actor, best known for playing a gay man opposite Julia Roberts in “My Best Friend’s Wedding.” “It’s not very easy. And, honestly, I would not advise any actor necessarily, if he was really thinking of his career, to come out.”
Everett, who also was the voice of Prince Charming in the second and third “Shrek” movies, continued his tirade saying, “The fact is you could not be, and still cannot be, a 25-year-old homosexual trying to make it in the British film business or the American film business. It just doesn’t work and you’re going to hit a brick wall at some point.” The British actor then launched into what the newspaper described as an “outburst.”
“You’re going to manage to make it roll for a certain amount of time, but at the first sign of failure they’ll cut you right off,” he griped. “And I’m sick of saying, ‘Yes, it’s probably my own fault.’ But the fact of the matter is, and I don’t care who disagrees, it doesn’t work if you’re gay.”
Everett speculated that there are “probably” major stars who are still closeted, but added, “I think, all in all, I’m probably much happier than they are. I may not be as rich or successful, but at least I’m vaguely free to be myself.”
However the actor’s candor may have cost him his friendship with Madonna, whom he co-starred with, playing her gay best friend, in “The Next Best Thing.” He said Madge was none too pleased to be included in his 2007 memoir, “Red Carpets and Other Banana Skins,” in which he called the singer a “she-man” who smells “vaguely of sweat.”
“She felt it was an infringement of privacy,” he said. “Goddesses like that are obsessed with their public image and want to control everything about it, so if anyone is to tell anyone anything about her it’s got to be her.”
The actor, who is currently working on a sequel to his book, said Madonna has yet to forgive him or trust him any more.”Elephants don’t forget,” he said. source
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