If you’ve ever watched a boxing match, you know how important it is to have good people in your corner. So when it comes to the fight for gay marriage, it’s nice to know we’ve got people like Charlize Theron behind us.
The Oscar-winning actress has spoken out publically for years about her support for gay rights and of same-sex marriage. In 2005 she announced that she and longtime boyfriend Stuart Townsend would wait to get married until gays and lesbians could get married. And she has played gay in films like Monster, Head in the Clouds and the upcoming trans love story, The Danish Girl.
And now, in yet another interview, Charlize is pointedly comparing current marriage laws to apartheid. When asked by IndieLondon why gay rights are such a “hot button” issue for her, the South African native responded:
Because I don’t like living in an elitist world. It bothers me. I don’t want to be part of an elitist, sexual preference. It bothers me. It bothers me that I have a lot of friends … maybe because I came from a country where I lived under apartheid, I don’t know. But this is a form of apartheid and I don’t want to be a part of that. It’s not the reason why I’m not getting married but maybe there is a piece of me. It’s just so caveman. I can’t believe we’re still talking about it.
You and me both, sister, you and me both. Charlize gave the interview to promote her new film, The Burning Plain, the directorial debut of Guillermo Arriaga, the screenwriter behind Babel and 21 Grams.
In the same interview, Charlize praised the Oscar-winning film Milk, saying, “I just love the film, the way it was embraced, the speeches and this conversation that we’re constantly having about this issue. I don’t want that to go away. I want us to keep talking about it.”
Couldn’t you just swoon? It’s great to see an actress who not only plays gay for the box office, but will stand up and speak out outside the theater as well.
