Despite being a celebrity, Kevin Spacey believes he has the right to keep his love life 100% private. The acclaimed actor, widely rumored to be gay, has long refused to discuss his personal relationships. In a new interview, a reporter from The Daily Beast confronted Spacey outright about his silence -- and the two-time Oscar winner gave an impassioned defense of his "right to privacy."
"You have to understand that people who choose not to discuss their personal lives are not living a lie," Spacey said. "That is a presumption that people jump to." When the writer pointed out that Spacey is very politically active, and that gay issues are a major part of the political landscape right now, Spacey denied that the two things could be connected.
"I just don't buy into that the personal can be political," Spacey insisted. "No one's personal life is in the public interest. It's gossip, bottom line. End of story."
It's a revealing interview, even if Spacey technically doesn't reveal anything. And it comes at an interesting time: in the past three weeks alone, Oprah Winfrey denied being a lesbian; Mariah Carey denied being bisexual; and John Travolta threatened a lawsuit against a website that said he was gay. When did we become so obsessed with stars telling us whether they're gay or not? It's not like it ultimately makes a huge difference to anybody if, say, Mariah Carey once dated a woman. (Does it?)
Besides, sexuality is a complicated thing that's rarely explained completely by the terms "gay" and "straight." Here are a couple hypothetical examples: What if John Travolta does love men -- but he also loves his wife and kids? What if Oprah and Gayle really are "just friends," but she has stronger feelings for Gayle than she does for Stedmen? Does this make them gay? Straight? Or does it just mean, as Spacey suggested, that it's none of our business?
In the interview, Spacey did say that gay rights and anti-gay bullying are important issues -- but that forcing celebrities to discuss their sexuality is a form of bullying, too. We wonder if he thinks the same thing applies to straight celebrities. Is asking Jake Gyllenhaal and Taylor Swift if they're a couple a form of bullying? Or asking Jessica Simpson if she wants to have kids? To some degree, a celebrity's life will always be an open book -- so how many chapters do they get to keep closed?
Do you think celebrities should talk about their sexuality, or do they have a right to keep it private? Chime in below!
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