'Bros' Writer, Star Billy Eichner Blasts Hollywood's 'Hypocritical' Homophobia
Billy Eichner, the out co-writer and star of the upcoming gay romcom "Bros," said that Hollywood is "very accepting on the surface," but scratch that surface and you'll find homophobia, Page Six reported.
In June 5 comments made to the publication while attending the MTV Movie and TV Awards, Eichner opined that "Hollywood has often been very accepting on the surface but very homophobic underneath the surface and very hypocritical."
"And a lot of decisions" around what stories are being made into movies "have been made based on fear — fears that I think are often irrational — and yet, people were scared," Eichner went on to say.
"You know, a lot of it was based around what they think the mainstream audience would or would not accept," he added. "And that's pretty infuriating when you think about it."
In response, Page Six noted, "Eichner set his sights on creating a movie that would paint a real, relatable and eye-opening, yet light-hearted, picture of what it's like to date — in today's day and age — as a queer person."
In doing so, Eichner has already broken new ground; with "Bros," he is "the first openly gay man to co-write and star in his own major studio film," The Hollywood Reporter noted.
What's more, the principal cast are entirely LGBTQ+... even the straight roles.
"I'm happy that we're here, and it's a movie that's really a long time coming," Eichner told Page Six.
Eichner said that online response to the film's trailer has been "generally really positive," with people being "excited about it and sharing it with their friends," and he suggested that the buzz around the movie's trailer stems from "a real hunger" for movies like "Bros."
The trailer promises a film that conveys the LGBTQ+ experience with something other than a cliched story and anodyne attempts at representation.
But it's important for the enthusiasm the film has found so far to transfer to ticket sales. "We're going to need everyone to rally behind it so that they make more movies like this," Eichner noted.
Plus, he said, the world could use a funny movie these days.
"The world is bleak," the comic actor said, "and people, I think, have forgotten how much fun it is to go into a movie theater and laugh with their friends."
Watch the (NSFW) trailer below.
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