Veteran actor Billy Dee Williams earned praise aplenty last week when excerpts from an interview with ‘Esquire’ magazine suggested the 82-year-old identified as gender fluid.
“I never tried to be anything except myself,” he shared with the men’s mag. “I think of myself as a relatively colorful character who doesn’t take himself or herself too seriously. You see I say ‘himself’ and ‘herself,’ because I also see myself as feminine as well as masculine.”
Yet, while the applause rang in, some detractors of the enduring heartthrob criticized his decision to go public with statements perceived to be “coming out.” The hoop-la finally encouraged Williams to clarify his statement on the matter.
Taking to our friends at ‘The Undefeated,’ look inside to see just what he said:
“Well, first of all, I asked last night, I said, ‘What the hell is gender fluid?’ That’s a whole new term,” Williams admitted, saying his quotes were misunderstood.“What I was talking about was about men getting in touch with their softer side of themselves.
Continuing, the 82-year-old revealed:
“I was talking about men getting in touch with the female side of themselves. I wasn’t talking about sex, I wasn’t talking about being gay or straight. I’m not gay — by any stretch of the imagination. Not that I have anything against gay people. But personally? Not gay.”