US comedian Todd Glass comes out
US comedian Todd Glass has come out, after 25 years in the business.
The comedian talked about being told of other people’s supposed homosexuality when people thought he was straight.
Glass, an atheist who is out in his personal life, said the widespread coverage of bullied gay teens influenced his decision to come out, echoing Zachary Quinto’s decision last year.
He said on the WTF podcast with Marc Maron: “I cannot listen to stories about kids killing themselves any longer and not [think], ‘When are you going to have a little blood on your shirt for not being honest about who you are?’”.
“I need to be crystal clear with this – every body deserves, whether somebody is gay and feminine or straight and feminine, it doesn’t fucking matter, every child deserves a life with harmony.”
On April 16, 2010, Glass collapsed backstage at a Los Angeles comedy club after suffering a heart attack.
On the subject of homophobic comedy, he said he had no problem with homophobes being homophobic in their acts, saying they’re “dumb” but at least “consistent”.
But when people make homophobic jokes that they say do not reflect the way they really feel, he says: “Why don’t you make a joke the way you feel? I know why, because that’s fucking hard”.
