Rupert Everett: Nothing worse than 'being brought up by two gay dads'

09/18/2012 by Corinne Heller

Rupert Everett, a homosexual British actor who played Julia Robert's pal in "My Best Friend's Wedding," is raising eyebrows due to a recent interview that quotes him as saying he "can't think of anything worse than being brought up by two gay dads."

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The 53-year-old actor made his comments to the UK's Sunday Times Magazine, which also interviewed his 77-year-old mother. Everett, who also played a gay father opposite Madonna in the 2000 box office flop "The Next Best Thing," came out publicly in 1989 and once said that he thinks doing so affected his career.

According to The Daily Mail and The Telegraph, Everett told the magazine that she has met his current boyfriend but "still wishes I had a wife and kids," adding: "She thinks children need a father and a mother and I agree with her. I can't think of anything worse than being brought up by two gay dads. Some people might not agree with that. Fine! That's just my opinion."

"I'm not speaking on behalf of the gay community," he is quoted as saying. "In fact, I don't feel like I'm part of any 'community.' The only community I belong to is humanity and we've got too many children on the planet, so it's good not to have more."

Gay rights group GLAAD's president Herndon Graddick said in a statement: "Since Everett shared his outdated opinion, gay parents, as well as their friends and families, have voiced overwhelming disappointment. Children aren't hurt when raised by caring gay parents, but they are when uniformed people in the public eye insult their families."

There has been no credible research published in the past 30 years that indicate any notable developmental differences between children raised by heterosexual parents and those raised by parents of the same gender. A 2011 University of Virginia study concluded that "ualities of family relationships are more tightly linked with child outcomes than is parental sexual orientation."

Gay celebrities who have raised children with same-sex partners include Melissa Etheridge, Rosie O'Donnell and Elton John.

Everett has said in the past that he has been unable to find good movie roles because he is openly gay. In 2010, he stirred controversy when he told BBC Radio 4: "I think show business is ideally suited for heterosexuals. It's run mostly by heterosexual men. I think there's a very sexist attitude. It's very, very conservative, Hollywood."

"A lot of straight actors are actively searching for gay roles because it's something different to do," he told the radio station. "I think that's fine. It does mean that the gay actors who used to just get to play the gay parts, like me, have been reduced to drag. But, you know, whatever."

Everett has in recent years appeared in movies such as "Wild Target" with Emily Blunt and "Parade's End" with Rebecca Hall and Benedict Cumberbatch. He is currently playing Oscar Wilde in the play "The Judas Kiss" in England.

He is also set to play the same role in a comedic biopic about the famous Irish poet and playwright, according to The Hollywood Repoter. The movie, "The Happy Prince," will mark his directorial debut and is also set to star Colin Firth, Emily Watson and Tom Wilkinson.