By Kristy Puchko | Celebrity | September 19, 2017 |
By Kristy Puchko | Celebrity | September 19, 2017 |
You’re going to be hearing a lot about Armie Hammer in the coming months, because whether he’s clapping back at James Woods or talking about his maybe kinky love of knots, the American stud is on a full promotional push for the romantic drama Call Me By Your Name. Yesterday, British GQ published a preview of their interview with Hammer and his co-star Timothée Chalamet. They also gave us this heart-stopping image.
armie hammer: I'd like to look like a bewitched prince who, until recently, was enchanted into a mournful and sensitive bear
— kaye toal (@ohkayewhatever) September 18, 2017
this sweater: pic.twitter.com/SfF8IPTneW
But because it’s the internet, the GQ piece also sparked aggregate news headlines like this:
Such a headline suggests that Hammer was having some sort of gay panic freakout about the scene. And immediately people reacted to the headline before reading the quote BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT WE DO NOW.
Terrified of getting a boner and everyone realising he's gay, perhap? ðŸ˜
— රවි මෙන්ඩිස් (@ravimendis) September 19, 2017
Me to Armie Hammer after reading that painfully misguided GQ interview #CallMeByYourName pic.twitter.com/zZehtuhBbn
— Patrick Swayne (@pswayne7) September 19, 2017
Ok I'm already seeing people who only read the headline dispense hot takes about this and come the fuck on, everyone https://t.co/ffrJBrvMFc
— Murderin' Millennial (@KitKatAddiction) September 18, 2017
Thankfully, others immediately called this out. Because for once, “this was taken out of context” is actually what happened.
@armiehammer is NOT our enemy and this headline is grossly misleading and irresponsible.
— Alex Marco (@TheAlexMarco) September 19, 2017
armie hammer: *says something respectful and well put about cmbyn*
— Erin 😎 (@CertifiedErin) September 19, 2017
media: ok how can we make him look like a homophobe
Here’s the actual quote from GQ.
“I was terrified before we were going to do it. I wouldn’t say it out loud… But I was nervous. This was a new experience. Having to free yourself so completely while being naked with a man in front of a room full of people, when you think about the prospect of that, it sounds really difficult. But when you’re there doing it, it’s incredible easy. So, the build-up was a lot more intense than the actual filming.”
He wasn’t terrified because he was being asked to perform simulated gay sex. It wasn’t by any stretch a homophobic comment. He was talking about performance anxiety. Then some outlets responded with a clickbait strategy that was frankly irresponsible, as it not only misrepresents the quote, but also risks hurting its subject’s reputation as collateral damage.
The lesson here is consider context. Armie Hammer will thank you for it.
Thank you….
— Armie Hammer (@armiehammer) September 19, 2017
Call Me By Your Name opens November 24th.