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'True Blood': Can one be both a fan of the show and anti-gay?
This past week, Philadelphia Eagles player, Todd Herremans, got himself knee-deep in trouble when he expressed his dissatisfaction with the gay storylines in HBO's "True Blood," which made us wonder if it's possible to be a fan of the show and anti-gay.
"So.. caught up on 'True Blood' last night," the footballer tweeted. "Not a fan of how they get you hooked with the first two seasons then bring on a barrage of homosexuality.."
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, he had several chances to take back what he said or explain his statement in a way that wouldn't be so, let's say, offensive to gay people when one of the Inquirer's writers tweeted him back for clarification. Herremans came short of apologizing by simply tweeting back, "To each his/her own."
After having a chat with his bosses, though, the tweets disappeared on Tuesday (August 10). In their place, he issued an apology.
"After speaking with Eagles management," he wrote. "I realize that my tweet earlier was insensitive and tasteless, and for this, I deeply apologize."
He then tweeted, "It was not my intention to offend or hurt anyone."
We support every American's right to free speech (and not just because we're a media site) - regardless of whether we agree or not. So, the real question we had after hearing the news story was is it possible to be a fan of "True Blood" and anti-gay? On the surface, it would seem illogical.
While the show centers on the straight pairing of Sookie and Bill, there are quite a few gay characters on the show. Many of the "straight" characters even express some element of bisexuality at times. We've seen Sam dream of a potential shower with Bill. In last Sunday's (August 8) episode, Eric mounted Talbot with a certain amount of expertise (before he killed him, of course).
Then we have very straightforward gay scenes in the budding relationship between Jesus and Lafayette and Pam's lesbian trysts. And as we saw in Sunday's (August 15) episode, the show pretty much revolves around Russell's current quest for revenge after Eric killed Talbot, his male lover.
Additionally, the show's creator and executive producer, Alan Ball, is openly gay and a very vocal supporter of GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender) rights, so we don't see the gay elements of the show going away anytime soon.
Zappers, what do you think? Is it possible to be a Truebie and anti-gay?
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No I do not believe it is possible to be both homophobic and a fan of the show. GREAT ARTICLE!! As an openly gay man myself I must say I admire this show greatly and the fact that it does go there and promotes tolerance and acceptance. Not just in the apparent LGBT community but also with any minority group who are looked down upon. Many parallels can be drawn with the Vampires to other communities that are discriminated against. Going back to Todd Herremans comment on twitter, it just goes to show that watching True Blood does take an open mind, homophobes will get very uncomfortable because of there ignorance and intolerance.
-Michael
i am not "pro-gay" whatever that would mean....but i do enjoy movies and tv shows that have central gay characters and it doesnt "bother" me in the least that TB has a few. also if a creative person is gay i dont give a damn one way or the other unless that creator does something that is anti-me ie meaning against my personal beliefs in a bigoted way.
there are many creative artistic individuals thru-out history who have been gay but that doesnt mean i would not like the art they produced.
i for one would let the footballer say what he wants, disciple him if he gets out of line but i am sure he still will watch TB. its got something for everyone.
also if folks start analyzing this footballer too much they may suffer their own form of scrutiny over what they say and think. I have had to deal without alot of bigoted and biased comments over being catholic but i dont sweat the small stuff and i sure as hell dont suffer for it.
folks should be aware that gay characters can be uncomfortable for "some" folks. i mean lets be real if TB was for everyone it would be even popular. I like the show the way it is and personnally Alan has to just make sure he can give us another great finales and i am sure any folks who are uncomfortable about the gay characters will overlook the "discomfort."
does this mean i am pro-gay-marriage? no, i am not. but does this make me "homophobic" or bigoted? no i am not. am i a big fan of TB? one of the biggest.
folks dont forget to have fun.
Yeah, I haven't understood people freaking out this year either. What show have they been watching? It's OK for Pam to go down on a woman, but not for Lafayette to have a truly sweet moment kissing Jesus? And don't even get me started on how Jason's OTT and crude sex in season one could possibly be preferable to watching L & J fall in love. The "don't show homosexuality in True Blood" crowd have apparently been in denial for 2+ seasons. True Blood has had every kind of sex onscreen since the beginning.
i am not "pro-gay" whatever that would mean....but i enjoy movies to tv shows that have central gay characters and it doesnt "bother" me in the least that TB has a few. also if a creative person is gay i dont give a damn one way or the other unless that creator does something that is anti-me ie meaning against my personal beliefs in a bigoted way.
there are many creative artistic individuals thru-out history who have been gay but that doesnt mean i would not like the art they produced.
i for one would let the footballer say what he wants, disciple him if he gets out of line but i am sure he still will watch TB. its got something for everyone.
also if folks start analyzing this footballer too much they may suffer their own form of scrutiny over what they say and think. I have had to deal without alot of bigoted and biased comments over being catholic but i dont sweat the small stuff and i sure as hell dont suffer for it.
folks should be aware that gay characters can be uncomfortable for "some" folks. i mean lets be real if true blood was for everyone it would be even popular. I like the show the way it is and personnally Alan has to just make sure he can give us another great finale and i am sure any folks who are uncomfortable about the gay characters will overlook the "discomfort."
does this mean i am pro-gay-marriage? no, i am not. but does this make me "homophobic" or bigoted? no i am not. am i a big fan of TB? one of the biggest.
folks dont forget to have fun.
I think you can be both but not really. I think the show has gone a little overboard with the homosexual storylines because in some instances they are pointless and obviously just added fluff on this show. I really wish Ball would stick to the books and how the characters are because there are plenty homosexual, bisexual characters without his add ons that slow the story to a halt.
If anyone reads the books they would know that Sookie is annoying, very Mary Sue, know-it-all but is really just a dummy stuck on her high horse like she's little miss perfect but Alan Ball has successfully turned Sookie into 100% US Certified white trash. Bill going to Eden (fae world) was so not even logical in the books because up until I believe a book before the 10th Sookie, Bill, no one really tells SOokie she's part Faerie much less the route Ball is going by making Bill know-it-all. Everytime I read a fan saying they don't get the pull towards Eric, why ppl want Bill to go bye bye. That's because Ball hasn't been portraying his characters right, why hasn't he. For two reasons.
So he can have the raunchiest sex and so he can add or over the top mangle all homosexual or bisexual book characters and create more. Edgington was amusing on the show but now he's just plane annoying, in the books Edgington is not this evil and blah blah blah, Talbot is human too, but I feel last night Ball flew the coup with Mississippi's king.
Again you can be a fan but sometimes it's just too much and that's not just homosexuality on True Blood. I think if you are not fully comfortable with it yet then yes you can like a show despite the storylines but it will only be so long before you get tired of superfluous sex, be it homosexual or hetero.
I think that the heterosexual sex in the show is much raunchier, and pushes more boundaries than the homosexual sex. Like others have already mentioned, all the homosexual sex is mostly just suggestive and kissing (and the occasional bite), but the heterosexual is quite full on.
I think that if someone is anti-gay, they shouldn't have the audacity to complain about True Blood. It's a fantastic show, NOT intended to be exactly like the books (that would be boring) and if people are uncomfortable with what's covered in the show, they should stop watching.
You should watch the "Give a Damn" campaign video. In it, Anna Paquin comes out as bisexual, yet no-one has a problem with that, it would seem. People do, however, seem to take issue with any male homosexuality. That's all we need- more prejudice in the world.
No, you most certainly CANNOT be anti-gay and watch True Blood, and I think that people with such bigoted views should try to imagine what life would be like if they lived in constant prejudice and surrounded by hatred for who they are.
I myself am straight, but seeing such hatred aimed at people for being who they are is truly heartbreaking.
I love the characters on the show and everything that Alan Ball has done with True Blood, and I hope that people will see how wrong they are to be prejudiced against someone based on their personal life.
I like the show but I do think Ball is pushing it to much with this homesexual. Almost every episode you see a man kissing a man. Lets get back to the story line. You can have to men liking eachother but please dont have them act on it and let us see it.
The bigger question is can people disagree about homosexuality in general? Tolerance does not equal full blown acceptance (no pun intended.) Should it?
Yes, I suppose it is possible as I am still watching but using the fast-forward button more and more as the shows morphs into nothing but a gay porn fest.
I've noticed most of the anti-gay and/or homophobic crowd stopped watching the show when Lafayette finally began a relationship.
Prior to that most people seemed just fine with the show. Ironically Lafayette and Jesus aren't even on that much, at least not nearly as much as their straight counter-parts who have very explicit sex scenes.
My own parents were just fine for two seasons and abruptly stopped watching this season citing "violence and gore" as the reason but I'm fairly certain it was the dose of Bill/Sam(via a dream) that kicked them to the curb ...or that got wind of Lafayette and Jesus.
I don't understand homophobes or why they have such a problem with gay people.
PS: Big LOL at "I like the show but I do think Ball is pushing it to much with this homesexual. Almost every episode you see a man kissing a man. Lets get back to the story line. You can have to men liking eachother but please dont have them act on it and let us see it."
Should Sookie and Bill stop "acting on it" too then? They most certainly have the raunchiest full on sex scenes of any characters on the show yet two men aren't allowed to kiss?
What show are you watching?