*Although Mo’Nique has a lot of love for the gay community, the same can’t be said for other entertainers in Hollywood.
Chatting with The Wrap’s Anita Bennett, the Oscar winner gave her reason why many of Tinseltown’s black actors took a pass on playing the lead role in her upcoming film “Blackbird.”
The Patrik-Ian Polk-helmed independent drama revolves around a deeply religious high school student (openly gay actor Julian Walker) who lives in a small town while struggling with the fact that he may be gay.
Despite putting the word out to find a top black actor, Polk ultimately went with Walker when no one would come on board for the movie.
“He went the regular route initially,” Mo’Nique told Bennett. “He went to Hollywood and said, ‘I’m looking for a young black male actor to play a gay character.’ Everyone was afraid of it because of what the movie is and what the movie shows.”
According to Polk, anti-gay religious convictions were cited by the actors who turned “Blackbird” as well as concerns over the film showing Walker’s character Randy Rousseau losing his virginity to a girl, but ultimately realizing that his true love is a man. In addition “Blackbird” contains several graphic love scenes involving two men that may have also factored into the nonresponse.
On the flipside, Mo’Nique confessed to not seeing anything wrong with the film’s depiction of gay love.
“When you really watch it and you see these two people, who just happen to be two men who are making love, it no longer becomes graphic. It becomes what is real,” she explained to Bennett.
“Blackbird” is set to arrive in theaters on April 24 and will later be shown on Robert L. Johnson’s Urban Movie Channel. For more of Anita Bennett’s interview with Mo’Nique at TheWrap, click here.
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