Celebrity Scandal!
Kobe Bryant apologizes to LGBT community for openly gay slur?
[Apr. 14]
Perez Hilton, an openly gay blogger, knows a little bit about bullying. When he speaks, his words have the power to heal, divide, or hurt any celebrity or public figure. Whether he is outing a Hollywood star or starlet who is not yet ready to have their sexuality thrust into the bright lights of paparazzi attention or he is simply commenting that someone’s choice of fashion on the red carpet is at best ugly, his words reverberate throughout the blogosphere in such a way that they give him star power and the accused or praised a public media boost like no other. But what about when simple phrases that reinforce negative stereotypes are thrown around by other less prolific celebrity figures while people are listening and cameras are rolling? Such was the case when celebrity athlete Kobe Bryant, an NBA basketball player, threw out some openly stupid remarks about the gay community. Realizing after the fact that he had been labeled a verbal bully recanted his remarks with a public apology almost immediately, and since the sports hero himself had a checkered past filled with nasty allegations about his own sexual nature with regard to misogynistic behavior but was forgiven by fans, Kobe Bryant now hopes the gay and lesbian community across the United States will forgive him.
Regarding the celebrity scandal, the apology to the general public Kobe Bryant made had to be very public.
Entertainment journal TMZ shared the following celebrity interview quote about the LGBT celebrity scandal, saying:
Bryant spoke with Human Rights Campaign honcho Joe Solmonese — who tells TMZ,
“I applaud Kobe Bryant for his swift apology. We had a very sincere conversation in which he expressed his heartfelt regret for the hurt that his words caused.”
Solmonese adds, “He told me that it’s never OK to degrade or tease, and that he understands how his words could unfortunately give the wrong impression that this is appropriate conduct.”
“At the end of a difficult day, I applaud Kobe for coming forward and taking responsibility for his actions.”
Acting as a positive role model for the youngsters in our community and showing that while adults do make mistakes sometimes, that it is never okay to willfully or unintentionally bully or discriminate against people because of sexual orientation any more than it is to blackball someone because of their race or gender was the right step for the celebrity athlete.
While he is far from a green celebrity, GCN wanted to give him props for not blowing off and dismissing the effect his negative words and hate-speech fueled anti-gay slurs have on the general public.
Yeppers.
+1 to Kobe Bryant for screwing up, illuminating the issue, taking social and moral responsibility for his words, taking them back, and offering an apology to the sports world and greater LGBT community.
We surprise even ourselves saying it, but it is at times like these — when star celebs screw things up royally but are guided right by their public relations handlers to fix their mistakes correctly and swiftly — that having the subjects brought up in a public sphere actually help to educate the community. Thought Bryant was in the wrong, he handled cleaning up the mess for the higher and greater good of all concerned.
That makes him our philosophical gent of the week who we applaud for demonstrating utilitarian theory so discreetly.
It almost makes you forget the fact that [per CNN]:
The National Basketball Association fined Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers $100,000 on Wednesday for “offensive and inexcusable” comments he made during Tuesday night’s game, the league said in a statement.
Bryant used an expletive and an anti-gay slur directed at a referee after receiving a technical foul in a game against the San Antonio Spurs.
Okay, so not really — but can you fault eternal optimists for hopeful thinking?
Follow @perezhilton to read the daily word about Hollywood and gay celebrities coming out in a way that is also a mixed bag when it comes to being considered revealing secrets of the stars as a public service and good deed.