Alan Cumming has a very clear message for people who don’t like sharing pronouns: ‘F**k you’
Alan Cumming was previously a guest on Homo Sapiens. (David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images)
Former Cabaret and The Good Wife actor Alan Cumming has a very strong message for people who get upset about everyone sharing their pronouns.
The Tony-award winning actor is currently starring in the Boston debut of Och & Oy! A Considered Cabaret. Originally planned for 2020, but postponed due to the pandemic, this entertaining cabaret-style show brings together Cumming and NPR’s All Things Considered’s Ari Shapiro: two singular storytellers with big personalities.
Cumming, a long-serving campaigner for LGBT+ rights, is particularly outspoken on trans issues, and a while ago he spoke to G2 about the strange backlash to the everyday trans-inclusive courtesy of sharing pronouns in emails and Twitter bios.
Alan Cumming: ‘People who share pronouns are doing you a favour.’
He said: “When people get all weird about people putting pronouns at the end of their emails, I think: ‘F**k you.’
“These people are being kind to you and doing you a favour by telling you how they want to be defined.”
Cumming also reflected on how discussions on queer issues have evolved during his career.
He said: “I think it’s great things should move fast. The constant question I used to get was: ‘Do you think that coming out is bad for your career in Hollywood?’ It’s such a ridiculous question.
“I don’t think people in Basingstoke or Idaho are not going to go and see a movie because someone in it is gay. I really don’t think they care.”
Alan Cumming (Dave Benett/Getty Images)
In 2018, Cummings broke barriers by playing a gay, married main character in CBS police procedural drama Instinct – bringing visibility to a network audience.
He reflected at the time: “Most times, when we see gay characters on American TV, their gayness is the prime thing. Their gayness is sometimes the problem.
“What’s refreshing about this is there’s a successful relationship and they’re supportive of each other. And being gay is also the fourth or fifth most interesting thing about this character.”
The show was cancelled in 2019 after two seasons.
Cabaret star explains why he thinks circumcision is ‘mutilation’.
The Scottish actor is also a campaigner against circumcision.
Cumming explained: “I never thought anything about my foreskin, and then I came to America and I was having sex and people would just be gasping because they’d never seen a foreskin before. I was made to feel weird and freakish because I had an intact body.
“It’s genital mutilation. And I think people say: ‘Oh, that’s hysterical.’ But we do it to girls and it’s called genital mutilation.”
Cumming talked to G2 for the launch of Homo Sapiens, the LGBT+ podcast he has joined as host.
