Culture

The guy in the ‘Call Me Maybe’ music video says he wasn’t ‘comfortable’ playing gay

Jun 09 2018
Written by Jess Glass

The actor who played the heartthrob in Carly Rae Jepsen’s hit “Call Me Maybe” has spoken out about his discomfort in playing gay.

Holden Nowell, a Canadian model-turned-rapper recently talked about his experience filming the iconic music video which has gained over one billion views on YouTube since its release in 2011.

Jepsen cemented herself as a gay icon following the inclusive music video, where she does her best to seduce the attractive man working in her neighbour’s yard, only to find that he’s more interested in her male guitarist.

However, on Thursday, Nowell said that he wasn’t exactly comfortable with the attention that “Call Me Maybe” caused him to get, especially as his character ended up being gay.

The 29-year-old told iHeartRadio Canada: “The fact that they had to make me gay at the end of the video… it was all very… I didn’t like being known as the gay guy in the ‘Call Me Maybe’ video. It was just something I wasn’t used to.

“I was always the ‘Call Me Maybe’ guy, everywhere I went, and after awhile I got really sick of hearing that.”

(CarlyRaeJepsenVEVO / YouTube)

He then revealed that the original ending of the music video was more overtly gay, with director Ben Knechtel planning to have Nowell’s character kiss the guitarist.

However, the actor stated that he wasn’t comfortable with kissing a man.

Nowell said: “I was like, ‘I’m going to be completely honest with you. I’m not going to kiss a guy, especially for $500.’

“I said, ‘I really don’t think I’m comfortable kissing a guy for a music video.'”

The actor then said he suggested the ending that made it into the final video, where Nowell’s character only gives his number to a visibly surprised guitarist.

He continued, “I said, ‘You know what? What if instead of me kissing a guy at the end of the video, what if I just give a guy my number or something like that?’”

(CarlyRaeJepsenVEVO / YouTube)

Nowell gave the interview following the release of his debut rap album Fade II Black, under the name of SixXx’Tre.

The Canadian rapper explained that a near-death experience had prompted him to make the album after he was repeatedly stabbed in the head.

“If I died that night, most people would have remembered me as the Call Me Maybe guy and that literally ate my soul alive,” Nowell said.

(CarlyRaeJepsenVEVO / YouTube)

Jepsen is a long-time supporter of LGBT rights, taking a stand in 2013 against the Boy Scouts of America‘s now-defunct ban on gay members.

After pulling out of a Scouts event, she said: “As an artist who believes in equality for all people, I will not be participating in the Boy Scouts of America Jamboree this summer.

“I always have and will continue to support the LGBT community on a global level and stay informed on the ever-changing landscape in the ongoing battle for gay rights in this country and across the globe.”