How To Say That You Aren't Gay

I recently came across an interview with Hugh Jackman in which he addresses the gay rumors that have been spreading ever since he portrayed Peter Allen in The Boy From Oz. I think it might be one of the best responses that I've ever read:

“I’d be happy to go and deny it, because I’m not... But by denying it, I’m saying there is something shameful about it, and there isn’t anything shameful.”

It seems that very often celebrities (especially male celebrities) are so concerned with being called gay that they offer really offensive denials. Like Tom Cruise, who actually brought a defamation lawsuit against a magazine publisher, or Kenny Chesney, who bragged that he slept with over a hundred women because it's so horrible to be called gay:

“What guy who loves girls wouldn't be angry about that? I didn't sign up for that.”

So it was just pretty cool the way Jackman answered the question. And as much as I hate to say anything good about Pete Wentz ever ever ever... he also had a pretty good response to rumors that he was gay or bisexual:

"Our culture bombards us with this idea that you’re not that, and if you are that, there’s something wrong with you, and then we’re going to call you that, and then it’s an insult.”

“Whenever you say that homophobia is stupid, you just get called gay. There is a sense of self-empowerment or recapturing who you are by people calling you ‘fag,’ and being like, ‘Yeah, I am a fag.’ Even though you’re not. What does somebody respond?"

It's kind of sad that in 2009 people are still so obsessed with whether or not someone is gay. And it's even sadder that so many celebrities are so horrified by the possibility of being called gay. I really hope to see more and more responses like Jackman's and Wentz's in the future.