Ana Matronic slams Paul Rudd’s ‘homophobic’ Dead or Alive re-enactment
Paul Rudd and Jimmy Fallon in a re-enactment of Dead or Alive’s “You Spin Me Round”
Scissor Sisters’ vocalist Ana Matronic has slammed Paul Rudd and Jimmy Fallon’s re-enactment of Dead or Alive’s “You Spin Me Round,” saying it is “tone deaf at best, homophobic and bullying at worst.”
In an Instagram post about Rudd and Fallon’s shot-for-shot remake of Dead or Alive’s classic music video aired on April 25, Matronic asked: “What’s the joke here?”
“‘OMG the 80s were so faggy’? And then to really get homophobic, when dressed as Pete Burns, Paul Rudd was too ‘humiliated’ to meet Wu-Tang Clan? That looking like Pete Burns was ‘traumatizing’ to his children? Ha-f***ing-ha,” Matronic wrote in the post, published on Monday (April 29).
Ana Matronic accused Paul Rudd of ‘punching down’
Matronic said Burns was a “glorious, witty, glamorous” man who “suffered because of his uniqueness.” She accused Rudd, who was dressed as him, of “punching down” and reducing Burns to “an object of ridicule.”
“Pete’s Scouse ass could eat you for breakfast, Ant Boy,” Matronic finished.
Matronic also replied to comments on her Instagram post that both criticised and supported her view.
“Pete’s Scouse ass could eat you for breakfast, Ant Boy.”
– Ana Matronic
One commenter replied: “You just want attention.”
Matronic replied with: “…on issues that affect the safety and well-being of queer and gender non-conforming people. [finished that for you!]”
Meanwhile, a Dead or Alive fan weighed in on the debate and said he felt that the performance could bring the song to a whole new audience.
Paul Rudd and Jimmy Fallon in a re-enactment of Dead or Alive’s “You Spin Me Round”
Matronic replied: “The issue I’m taking is that even if the joke is ‘you look ridiculous’ it fails on somebody like Pete, for whom a term like that was used as a way to bully, shame and marginalize him. And by going on record, on video & in print saying they were ‘humiliated’ to wear his clothes gives the message that Pete, in turn, should be humiliated.”
In a later comment, Matronic said the video re-creation was “not done from a place of love and admiration, but a place of ridicule.”
PinkNews has contacted representatives for Paul Rudd and The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon for comment.
Dead or Alive singer Pete Burns died in 2016
Pete Burns rose quickly to fame in the 1980s as lead singer of Dead or Alive. He developed a huge following in the LGBT+ community.
The bisexual singer and performer later became known for his gender non-conforming appearance and his cosmetic surgeries.
He also developed a reality TV career later in life with shows such as Celebrity Big Brother, Celebrity Wife Swap and Come Dine With Me.
Burns passed away suddenly in October 2016 due to cardiac arrest.
