I remember when Amber Heard and Johnny Depp were first getting started. His relationship with Vanessa Paradis – which was always more of a common-law marriage – was falling apart and there were widespread rumors that Depp had fallen for his pretty young costar, Amber. Most of the Depp-heads refused to acknowledge that Amber and Johnny were happening, though. I remember the comments, which showed up on every post: “Isn’t she gay?” or “didn’t she come out as a lesbian years ago?” etc. In fact, Amber never came out and said she was a lesbian. She said she was bisexual. She had girlfriends before Depp and she never made a secret about it. The bisexual label was one she gave herself and she has no regrets. She spoke at The Economist’s second annual Pride & Prejudice event on Thursday. Some quotes:
She never hid her bisexuality: “It was just not important or interesting enough to make headlines.” Heard publicly discussed her sexual orientation for the first time in 2010, but to her family and friends, she “was always out. I was an activist. I went to protests.” Funnily enough, she added, “I was never in. I was in a relationship and I never hid it and then my career and my life started to change…”
She called herself bisexual in 2010, in an interview with Ellen: “I just answered honestly. I could tell by the look on this person’s face it was a big deal. My poor publicist. Then I realized the gravity of what I had done and why so many people—studio execs, agents, advisors—did not want this coming before my name. I became attached to a label. I’ve never seen myself defined by the person I’m with… I saw myself being in this unique position and having a unique responsibility. So, I bit the bullet.”
She was told that the ‘bisexual’ label was a problem for her career: “As a leading lady, there’s a certain amount of wish fulfillment. I was asked ‘How is anyone going to invest in you romantically if they think you’re unavailable?’ I said, ‘Watch me do it.’”
She’s proud to see more actors coming out: “I stand here now amongst many of my romantic leading lady peers who are out and fluid. I’m one of many now, and I’m working. If we’re meant to reflect the world around us, the whole point of telling stories and reaching audiences is to challenge the status quo, to push the envelope. Not just to meet the status quo. We’re in a unique position to do this. We need to be actively pushing. If every gay man that I know personally in Hollywood came out tomorrow, then this would be a non-issue in a month. We have a long way to go.”
[From E! News]
The only part that made me side-eye a little bit was this: “I could tell by the look on this person’s face it was a big deal.” She came out as bisexual with Ellen DeGeneres because it was such a big deal to ELLEN? That’s a little bit funny to me. I mean, I remember Amber Heard pre-Depp and I don’t want to say that she was an ambitious young actress looking to stand out from the crowd, but… she was. She didn’t come out publicly just because it meant so much to Ellen. Plus, she gave a bunch of interviews and speeches about her sexuality that year. It wasn’t just one time, one statement, for Ellen’s benefit. Now, all that being said, she’s right – she never hid anything and she never lied. She’s always talked about her bisexuality with a shrug. Sort of like a proto-Kristen Stewart. And that is important, for queer women to have these kinds of role models, to see that women like Amber and K-Stew can still get work and have careers and more.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Source: celebitchy.com
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