Earlier this month, philosopher-actor Andrew Garfield found himself under fire for remarks he made about his new role in the London revival of Angels in America. According to Gay Times magazine, Garfield said he prepared for the role by bingeing RuPaul’s Drag Race, then added, “I am a gay man right now just without the physical act — that’s all.” In a new interview, Garfield says his comments were taken out of context.
Garfield received criticism on social media for his remarks, which were made on July 3 at a panel discussion for the play. At the time, a number of Twitter users pointed out that watching RuPaul’s Drag Race is not the quite the same as being gay. The 33-year-old actor went on to tell BBC “Newsbeat” that he never intended for his comments to be interpreted that way.
“That’s of course not what I meant at all,” Garfield told Newsbeat. “That discussion was about this play and how deeply grateful I am that I get to work on something so profound. It’s a love letter to the LGBTQ community. We were talking about, ‘How do you prepare for something so important and so big?’ and I was basically saying, ‘I dive in as fully as I possibly can.’”
He continued, “My only longing is to serve and to keep the world spinning forward for the LGBTQ community in whatever way I’m meant to. It’s important to a community that I feel so welcomed by. The intention [in my comments] was to speak to that, speak to my desire to play this part to the best of my ability and to fully immerse myself in a culture that I adore.”
Perhaps this incident will inspire Garfield to take another vow of silence.
