What if Richard Armitage was gay?
What if Richard Armitage was gay instead of straight? What would you do?
No, I mean that sincerely.
Would it change anything?
Would you be disappointed?
After all, if he was gay, he wouldn't be interested in you, regardless of how far-fetched the fantasy of meeting him in person is or isn't, but odds are he wouldn't give you the time of day regardless, as he once said he would never date a fan.
Would you enjoy his works less? Or, would you perhaps like him even more? There are plenty of women who love to hang out with gay men, and hanging out with Richard Armitage - regardless of his sexuality - I can think of a whole host of worse things, for sure.
The question of Richard Armitage's sexuality has popped up before, many times, and I'm not going to provide a definitive answer to it, simply because the only one who can give a definite answer it is the man himself, and he ain't here. I'm not exactly hiding him in a closet or anything. Pun intented.
What would be the arguments for "oh he's gay, alright!" then? Well, it could be argued that the man was seen with a man going to some awards ceremony (his agent, actually), he's been in a musical (musical artists being gay could be said bysome many to be a truth universally acknowledged), he's rarely seen with a woman and when he is, they're likely to just be friends rather than lovers (the whole Annabel Capper discussion, which I think says more about the fans than it does Armitage & Capper). He also knows about style and is artistic and has an iPhone and he's sensitive and nice and all that.
None of which, of course, have anything to do with a person's sexuality. See, if you take that "evidence" into consideration, you're really just clutching at straws, and why that is, I'm not sure I want to know. Spite, perhaps?
Is there really any evidence of him being either gay or straight? He's been together with plenty of women on screen, but the man's a seriously good actor. Why do we all just assume he's straight? I mean, it's a bit heteronormative, isn't it? What if he swings both ways, eh? He probably is a heterosexual, judging from what he's said in interviews, but what if it turned out that he isn't? Would it make a difference to you as a fan of the man and his work?
If yes, may I ask why?
What's it to do with you? What's it to do with any of us? Why should we be bothered one way or the other? Whatever he chooses to do in his bedroom is nothing no do with us! Woman, man, it's his bedroom and therefore none of our business. It's his personal life, and it should be kept private. How would you like it if a bunch of strangers on the internet started speculating about your sex life just because they could?
Maybe, if Richard Armitage was gay, he would be another case of "all the best ones are either taken or gay", although at the moment ... he doesn't appear to be taken. Not like bachelorhood means anything except for "not currently in a relationship". Some people simply don't want to be in relationships, which most of the rest of the world fails to comprehend and think is weird.
So, what do I think? Personally? It would certainly spoil the fantasy a bit if he was gay, I suppose. It's still none of my business what he does off-screen, though. If he wants to be in a relationship and finds someone (woman OR man) who loves him unconditionally, I'll be delighted for him, because he deserves to be happy. I'd still enjoy his acting, still swoon over his good looks and fantastic voice, and be happy that there's at least one man out there who sets a good example for other men, because by golly, we can do with more of those!
There are plenty of gay actors out there, so if he was, he'd just be another one of many. Somewhere out there, there might be a very lucky lad instead of a very lucky lass who will one day capture the man's heart. And as long as Richard Armitage is happy, whatever he chooses to do with his life, I think we should be happy for him, because fans should be supportive - not bitch about his private life.
The song below puts it so well:
The way I see it, it's okay to be gay, regardless of who you are, whether famous or Ordinary Joe. It's not for me to judge what you do in your spare time. "An it harm none, do as ye will."
And no, I don't actually think Richard Armitage is a homosexual. To convince me, he would have to make a public statement where he came out - and if he never does, as far as I'm concerned, he's straight. Not that it matters to me personally in any way, shape or form, because I don't know the man in person. Then again, he hit on Keira Knightley thinking she was Natalie Portman when doing that Star Wars film (of which Star Wars fans do not speak), and the scenes with Alona in Between the Sheets were very convincing. Or any woman in any production that calls for romance or sex. So, for what it's worth, sorry lads; I'm afraid he's still ours. :P
This post is part of FanstRAvaganza 2, a Richard Armitage fanblogging event running 14-21 March 2011. See all FanstRAvaganza posts from this blog.
This year's other participants: An RA viewer's perspective from 33°0'S of the equator, Avalon's Blog, CDoart, Confessions of a Watcher, From the Quill Tip, Me + Richard, Mesmered's Blog, Nevermind, Mr. Armitage, Phylly's Faves, RA Frenzy, The RA Fan Blog, RA Vids & Graphics, The Spooks Fan Blog, and White Rose Writing.
No, I mean that sincerely.
Would it change anything?
Would you be disappointed?
After all, if he was gay, he wouldn't be interested in you, regardless of how far-fetched the fantasy of meeting him in person is or isn't, but odds are he wouldn't give you the time of day regardless, as he once said he would never date a fan.
Would you enjoy his works less? Or, would you perhaps like him even more? There are plenty of women who love to hang out with gay men, and hanging out with Richard Armitage - regardless of his sexuality - I can think of a whole host of worse things, for sure.
The question of Richard Armitage's sexuality has popped up before, many times, and I'm not going to provide a definitive answer to it, simply because the only one who can give a definite answer it is the man himself, and he ain't here. I'm not exactly hiding him in a closet or anything. Pun intented.
What would be the arguments for "oh he's gay, alright!" then? Well, it could be argued that the man was seen with a man going to some awards ceremony (his agent, actually), he's been in a musical (musical artists being gay could be said by
None of which, of course, have anything to do with a person's sexuality. See, if you take that "evidence" into consideration, you're really just clutching at straws, and why that is, I'm not sure I want to know. Spite, perhaps?
Is there really any evidence of him being either gay or straight? He's been together with plenty of women on screen, but the man's a seriously good actor. Why do we all just assume he's straight? I mean, it's a bit heteronormative, isn't it? What if he swings both ways, eh? He probably is a heterosexual, judging from what he's said in interviews, but what if it turned out that he isn't? Would it make a difference to you as a fan of the man and his work?
If yes, may I ask why?
What's it to do with you? What's it to do with any of us? Why should we be bothered one way or the other? Whatever he chooses to do in his bedroom is nothing no do with us! Woman, man, it's his bedroom and therefore none of our business. It's his personal life, and it should be kept private. How would you like it if a bunch of strangers on the internet started speculating about your sex life just because they could?
Maybe, if Richard Armitage was gay, he would be another case of "all the best ones are either taken or gay", although at the moment ... he doesn't appear to be taken. Not like bachelorhood means anything except for "not currently in a relationship". Some people simply don't want to be in relationships, which most of the rest of the world fails to comprehend and think is weird.
So, what do I think? Personally? It would certainly spoil the fantasy a bit if he was gay, I suppose. It's still none of my business what he does off-screen, though. If he wants to be in a relationship and finds someone (woman OR man) who loves him unconditionally, I'll be delighted for him, because he deserves to be happy. I'd still enjoy his acting, still swoon over his good looks and fantastic voice, and be happy that there's at least one man out there who sets a good example for other men, because by golly, we can do with more of those!
There are plenty of gay actors out there, so if he was, he'd just be another one of many. Somewhere out there, there might be a very lucky lad instead of a very lucky lass who will one day capture the man's heart. And as long as Richard Armitage is happy, whatever he chooses to do with his life, I think we should be happy for him, because fans should be supportive - not bitch about his private life.
The song below puts it so well:
The way I see it, it's okay to be gay, regardless of who you are, whether famous or Ordinary Joe. It's not for me to judge what you do in your spare time. "An it harm none, do as ye will."
And no, I don't actually think Richard Armitage is a homosexual. To convince me, he would have to make a public statement where he came out - and if he never does, as far as I'm concerned, he's straight. Not that it matters to me personally in any way, shape or form, because I don't know the man in person. Then again, he hit on Keira Knightley thinking she was Natalie Portman when doing that Star Wars film (of which Star Wars fans do not speak), and the scenes with Alona in Between the Sheets were very convincing. Or any woman in any production that calls for romance or sex. So, for what it's worth, sorry lads; I'm afraid he's still ours. :P
EDIT 10/11 December 2012: I've closed the commenting section for this post and decided to hide the existing comments. For now, at least. This was not a decision taken lightly, as I think debate is good and healthy - and, naturally, I like people commenting on my blog posts. However, in recent weeks, the comments started to get out of hand in more ways than one. I don't mind people disagreeing, but there's no need for personal attacks. I have other things I want to be doing over Christmas than filter out nasty comments that would be sure to bring down any sort of holiday cheer.
There is also the impending release of The Hobbit to consider, and what that is going to mean for RA's career. He's bound to be catapulted into stardom, which is fantastic. I don't wish to be a part of potentially harming his prospects (where fans are concerned, more than anything - I'm not delusional enough to think one of my blog posts could impact his chances of getting hired in the slightest!), however miniscule my blog is in the grand scheme of things, but I do know how much link love this post has received from Google over the years.
I've also updated the wording of the post slightly, as my reasons for writing it in the first place was not to speculate about his sexuality, but to say his sexuality has got nothing to do with anyone but himself. His sexuality, like that of most popular actors, has been a so-called-fan favourite to discuss, and it probably won't go away, as it hasn't gone away for other actors. Richard Armitage could get married (to a woman :P) and have a handful of kids, and there would still be spiteful people out there saying he's just putting it on for the sake of convention and that really, he's gay even if he doesn't know it yet. Either way you look at it, the poor man can't win, and I think that's awful. For shame, internet! :(
I might un-hide the comments in a few months or so, when things have calmed down a bit, and who knows, I might even open it for commenting again. But not right now. Right now, we should be focusing on a) enjoying RA as Thorin in The Hobbit, b) celebrating the upcoming holiday season, and c) be awesome to one another, which I dare say is what RA would want us to do instead of speculating about his sex life. Happy Holidays!
This year's other participants: An RA viewer's perspective from 33°0'S of the equator, Avalon's Blog, CDoart, Confessions of a Watcher, From the Quill Tip, Me + Richard, Mesmered's Blog, Nevermind, Mr. Armitage, Phylly's Faves, RA Frenzy, The RA Fan Blog, RA Vids & Graphics, The Spooks Fan Blog, and White Rose Writing.
