Christian Keyes Is An Artist Not Ally.


While it's no secret that Hollywood loves casting heterosexuals to portray homosexual characters, one would think that most, if not all, actors who take on these roles would be 100% secure with their sexuality. Unfortunately, even in 2019 the male heterosexual ego remains fragile as ever, as showcased by actor Christian Keyes recent rant on Instagram where he addressed the unwelcomed attention he receives from gay men on his social media accounts. Link to video below.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Br9tD4UgBMR/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=3kgpgytmez4e
 Aside from respecting his sexual preference, Keyes rant is damaging as it only further demonstrates the issues of casting non homosexuals to portray homosexual roles in film and television. As much as these actors respect others truths and appreciate the support the truth is often very few are allies of the LGBT Community. Surely Keyes knows he is not the first heterosexual male to be ogled and hit on by fans of the same sex. Heterosexual stars like actor Ryan Reynolds and R&B singer Tank are well known for embracing gay fans without taking offense to flirtatious behavior. Instead of ignoring male advances, or being flattered to receive them, Keys has to defend his fragile sexuality and in turn only alienates his fans and showcases a degree of homophobia.

The best thing Keyes could have done in this situation was to just ignore any and all messages received by males after all, at this point in his career any interesting opportunities wouldn't and shouldn't be presented via his inbox. Given that Keyes portrays a gay man on the CW series Legends of Tomorrow, one doesn't know how his comments will effect his work going forward considering Hollywood's low tolerance for any type of homophobia, no matter how blanketed they may be.