Earlier this month, a fake report claimed star celeb rocker Jon Bon Jovi had died in a New Jersey hospital due to cardiac arrest. [Meanwhile he was preparing for a charity show in NJ and did in fact perform that night.] Now add to the list of celebrity holiday hoaxes a new report, supposedly on the cover of People magazine, that Twilight star Taylor Lautner finally came out of the closet, following months of gossip and rumors that he might be gay.
The now famous “Taylor Lautner is Gay” People magazine cover image went viral Monday December 26th. It showed a picture of the young Twilight Star and proclaimed he was out of the closet and happy to be confirming all the rumors he is a homosexual. Shortly after rumor mills reports appeared, the hot celeb gossip had caught the eye of hip-hop magnate Russell Simmons (who promptly tweeted his support). That is until the magazine cover image was revealed to be a hoax, following a discovery that the People cover announcement was photoshopped over one from a 2006 issue of the magazine. Then, justifiably so, the mogul got mad. So did everyone else bright enough to realize that someone faking a news report about another person’s sexuality (whether gay, straight, bisexual, or transgender) is not only rude. It can and should be considered bullying, libel, or (if talked about) slander.
According to Yahoo! News star celebs like Russell Simmons were truly upset to learn the faked cover appeared to be more mean-spirited in nature than actually a pro-social Hollywood outing that happened to help support members of the GLBT community. They report:
After finding out that the cover was a fake, [Russell Simmons] tweeted, “Disappointed that people would joke about someone coming out about their sexuality. Let Taylor Lautner be whoever he wants to be.”
With those bold words, he expressed the sentiment of and united both the GLBT and straight (but gay friendly) communities.
But who wouldn’t be disappointed by such a fake rumor mills report? Well, thousands of teenage girls who don’t understand the disturbing social message the fake magazine cover sent aren’t disappointed. Rather, they’re happier than ever to find that the Twilight star celeb is not gay, giving them some small hope that any one of them could be the celeb’s pick for a girlfriend (should he ever decide to get into a serious relationship or start on the “party like a rock star” groupie hook-up trend).
Fueled by the lack of interesting relationship news about Lautner while co-stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson are hotter than ever (since effectively confirming their off-screen relationship together), has remained the fuel for all sorts of crazy celebrity gossip and small talk rumors.
But when does gossip shared with good intention transcend entertainment news and become an insulting and embarrassing form of cyber bullying?
Maybe Taylor Lautner is too busy with his career to be concerned with the drama that celebrity relationships often become? For instance, Hollywood Life reported that Taylor Lautner is maybe a little leery about the Twilight phenomenon and would like to put some extra effort into his acting career. That’s a good enough reason as any to put less effort into establishing an intimate relationship with someone.
From Hollywood Life:
“You kind of just have to realize that Twilight is Twilight and it’s unlike anything else,” [Taylor Lautner] laughs. “So forget about that for a second and if you can do that then you’re fine! Because we do what we love to do and do things we are passionate about and really hope that people enjoy them.”
As a guy who likes girls but has lots of gay friends, here’s my thoughts.
Maybe just leave the poor kid alone for a few minutes? He’s not gay as far as I’ve been able to tell. He hasn’t hooked up to anyone’s confirmed knowledge with any dude — or even a girl who looks like a guy. He’s interested in establishing his acting career beyond the Twilight phenomenon without allowing romance rumors to get top billing in the press. And at his young age and standard of wealth, who can blame him for that?
After all, he even stayed away from several high-profile events after being so embarrassed by the famous BIG GAY KISS with Robert Pattinson. Meanwhile, the green celebrity continues to support the Lollipop Theater Network, both with personal funds and with awards granted him from successful lawsuits. Taylor Lautner is hot, kind, charitable, and still single, ladies. Resume taking your places in line. Gay men? You are still welcome to take note of what the girls (and actor Robert Pattinson) seem to already know… that boy (as he says) is fine.
As for cyber bullying, it is a new form of harassment that mean-spirited cowards use under the blanket of anonymity all the time.
If Taylor Lautner really is straight — and gay friendly — he would get together with GLBT star celebs and gay marriage rights activists like Lady Gaga (who just started her own foundation to fight bullying). Just like using the word gay or queer as an insult is not politically correct, trying to ruin heterosexual relationships for a young Hollywood actor in a way that bullies both he and the GLBT community is utterly inappropriate.
But for now, the people behind the fake magazine cover are not known. So, it remains a mystery if the cyber bullying was perpetrated by gay men who root for Team Jacob, straight girls who cheer for Team Edward, or some other social misfits who are of an entirely different mean-spirited variety: truly malevolent online mischief makers.
Are you being cyber bullied? Read more about what online bullying is and why it’s wrong here —
http://www.bullyingonline.org/