14 DAY TRIAL // At the Television Critics Association press tour the other day, actor Billy Crystal promoted his upcoming show “The Comedians,” recalled playing the first-ever gay regular character on TV in “Soap,” and said that he found gay TV love scenes a bit too much for his taste these days.
He also expressed his hope that this wouldn’t become “an every day kind of thing,” where writers and producers kept shoving viewers’ faces in the gay lifestyle by forcing them, more or less, to watch love scenes between gay characters.
Minutes after the comments ended up online, the backlash already started, so the actor is now taking the time to set the record straight.
Gratuitous love scenes are an issue, regardless of whether gay or straight
Crystal admitted that playing a gay character on “Soap” in the ‘70s was difficult because he did it in front of a live audience and he could feel them reacting negatively to the material, even though, personally, he could see no problem with it.
Things have changed these days, he continued, hinting at the inclusion of more gay love scenes on famous TV shows, from “Sons of Anarchy” to “How to Get Away with Murder.” He didn’t want it to become a gimmick or to have it shoved in his face on a regular basis.
“Sometimes, it’s just pushing it a little too far for my taste and I’m not going to reveal to you which ones they are,” he said. “I hope people don’t abuse it and shove it in our face… to the point where it feels like an every day kind of thing.”
To many, this sounded like he was saying the gays should be back in the closet or, at the very least, back in their clothes. It wasn’t what he meant by it, he tells Xfinity.
“First of all, I don’t understand why there would be anything offensive that I said. When it gets too far either visually… now, that world exists because it does for the hetero world, it exists, and I don’t want to see that either. But when I feel it’s a cause, when I feel it’s ‘You’re going to like my lifestyle,’ no matter what it is, I’m going to have a problem and there were a couple of shows I went ‘I couldn’t watch that with somebody else.’ That’s fine. If whoever writes it or produces it… totally get it. It’s all about personal taste,” Crystal explains.
He adds to THR: whether gay or straight, this kind of love scenes shouldn’t be overused or they will become void of meaning and significance. “What I meant was that whenever sex or graphic nudity of any kind (gay or straight) is gratuitous to the plot or story it becomes a little too much for my taste,” the actor explains.
In other words, he’s probably not too big of a fan of “Game of Thrones” or other TV series that have been accused of using nudity and graphic content to keep the ratings up.
A good point
And this is where Crystal is right: whether gay or straight, we’re witnessing an increase in the number of graphic scenes included in shows these days. Those who don’t care for them are either labeled prudes or haters, and quickly dismissed because, defenders of these scenes say, they always have the option to change the channel if they don’t like what they see.
At the same time, this boost in the number of scenes is driven by the ever-present need to deliver programs as realistic as possible, and reality includes plenty of lovemaking, and even rape or other violent acts.
The problem with TV these days is not whether it includes too many graphic scenes, but rather that it tends to do so just for the heck of it, because, as we all know, sex and violence sell. This is what Crystal is saying.