Bros star Billy Eichner condemns ‘homophobic’ Hollywood
Billy Eichner has said that Hollywood isn’t as inclusive as it appears to be. (Photo by Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Twitter)
Comedian Billy Eichner has criticised Hollywood for its superficial support of the LGBTQ+ community and accused the industry of being “homophobic” and “hypocritical”.
In an interview with Page Six at the MTV Movie & TV Awards on Sunday (5 June), Eichner said that there was a lack of queer rom-coms because Hollywood’s support for LGBTQ+ people was merely surface level.
“Hollywood has often been very accepting on the surface but very homophobic underneath the surface and very hypocritical,” Eichner explained.
“And a lot of decisions have been made based on fear – fears that I think are often irrational – and yet, people were scared.
“You know, a lot of it was based around what they think the mainstream audience would or would not accept. And that’s pretty infuriating when you think about it.”
Billy Eichner’s queer movie Bro’s will come out on 28 October. (Photo by Rich Fury/VF22/Getty Images for Vanity Fair)
Billy Eichner stars in and co-wrote queer romantic comedy Bros, slated for release after the summer, which stars an all-LGBTQ+ cast. The comedian hopes the movie will give an authentic portrayal of dating as a queer person.
“As you know, Bros is historic in several ways,” Eichner said when unveiling the first trailer in May. “It’s the first gay-rom ever released by a major studio, it’s the first major studio film with an all LGBTQ+ cast in all the roles – even the straight roles – and apparently I’m the first openly gay man to ever write and star in his own major studio film, which is bizarre and infuriating but somehow true.”
The Billy on the Street star also said he has received lots of positive reviews and reactions from the trailer so far and is excited for people to finally see the movie.
“I think why so many people are watching the trailer and why so many people are talking about it is because there’s a real hunger for stories like this” he told Page Six.
Bros will be released in the UK on 28 October.
