Billy Crystal was a pioneer in the late ’70s for playing one of the first openly gay characters on television. Now, almost 40 years later, Crystal has issues with some of the gays scenes airing on TV.
“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,” said Crystal in a recent Television Critics Association panel in Pasadena, California.
Crystal played Jodie Dallas, an openly gay character on ABC’s hit sitcom Soap from 1977-1981.
According to The Wrap, Crystal told the audience at the panel discussion: “There were times where I would say to [the actor who played his boyfriend], ‘Bob, ‘I love you,’ and the audience would laugh nervously, because, you know, it’s a long time ago, that I’d feel this anger. I wanted to stop the tape and go, ‘What is your problem?’ Because it made you sort of very self-conscious about what we were trying to do then. And now it’s just, I see it and I just hope people don’t abuse it and shove it in our face — well, that sounds terrible — to the point of it just feels like an everyday kind of thing.”
We don’t know which show(s) the legendary actor has issues with, but more and more TV shows are making headlines with their realistic portrayals of LGBT characters. Looking, How To Get Away With Murder, Glee, Modern Family, Orange Is The New Black, and Transparent are just a few of the shows currently making headlines for their portrayals of the LGBT community.
The 68-year-old actor is set to star in Comedians, which is set to premiere on FX comedy this spring. FX did not have a comment on Crystal’s shocking comments.
